Man wanted in shooting of Baltimore Police officer arrested in Prince George’s County, police say

After a weeklong search, a man wanted in the shooting of a Baltimore Police officer was arrested Monday and charged with attempted murder, police said.

Antonio Oliver Janifer, 28, who had been identified by police as the man they say shot and injured Officer Joshua Jackson in Federal Hill on May 26 was arrested Monday in Prince George’s County without incident, department officials confirmed Tuesday.

Police said Janifer was taken into custody by officers from the Warrant Apprehension Task Force and U.S. Marshals Task Force, and he is charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder.

Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said previously that investigators quickly identified Janifer as the suspect based on physical evidence at the scene and “investigative techniques.”

According to charging documents, Janifer was identified, in part, because of the vehicle he was driving — a 2003 silver Ford Crown Victoria — was registered to him. Officer Jackson also identified Janifer as the alleged shooter.

The incident began at about 9:30 p.m. May 26 when Jackson attempted to stop a vehicle that police said was driving erratically. Harrison said the vehicle continued driving even after Jackson activated his lights and sirens. Police said the vehicle crashed into a parked car and the driver continued to flee on foot down Light Street. During the foot chase, Harrison said, the driver fired on Jackson, injuring the officer, before carjacking two cars and fleeing the area. Police said the officer did not fire his weapon.

Jackson suffered non-life-threatening injuries, partially because he was protected by a bulletproof vest. He was released from the Maryland Shock Trauma Center a day later.

Jackson, who joined the department in 2017, received local and national media attention as “Saint, the Rapping Cop,” who wrote uplifting songs about his career as a police officer.

The shooting prompted a large police response to the South Baltimore neighborhood immediately after the incident. Police later executed search warrants at Janifer’s Baltimore home and other locations he was known to frequent, and officers obtained an arrest warrant for him, Harrison said previously.

The Baltimore Sun has been unable to reach Janifer’s family.

An attorney who previously represented Janifer in a past attempted murder case in Prince George’s County declined to comment because of the age of the case.

According to charging documents in that case, Janifer was identified by one of the two victims who told police he fired at them outside a home in Temple Hills on July 9, 2011.

“After a brief conversation, the suspect produced a semi automatic handgun and started firing into the victim’s vehicle without warning striking both victims,” the charging document said.

One victim was shot in the abdomen and the second was struck in the face and leg. Police said one victim told police he’d known Janifer for approximately two years and identified him as the shooter. The documents did not provide a motive in the incident.

Janifer was acquitted in 2012 of the most serious charge, but was convicted of first-degree assault and use of a handgun in connection with a crime of violence. Additional details about the case have been unavailable.