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Baltimore Teen Arrested In Murder Of 70-Year-Old Man

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The wait is over for a Baltimore family who wanted to know who killed their 70-year-old father. Police have a suspect behind bars.       

Gigi Barnett has more.

For months, Tracey Hill waited for a phone call from Baltimore detectives, telling her that a suspect was behind bars for killing her 70-year-old father, Milton Hill, last year.

The months drifted into a year. But Thursday morning, the call came.

"I'm just still in a state of shock to know that they did find somebody," Tracey Hill said.

The suspect is 18-year-old James Johnson.

Police say Johnson's motive for shooting Hill several times in August last year was robbery. The teen allegedly wanted Hill's green scooter.

It happened in an alley behind the Ark Church on North Avenue in East Baltimore. Hill had worked there as a handyman for the congregation.

The question why still haunts the family.

"To leave him out on the street like that...is a senseless murder," Tracey Hill said.

Last summer, hundreds gathered to remember Hill. Police say they relied heavily on tips from witnesses.

"There was certainly some community intelligence involved in this," said Det. Jeremy Silbert, Baltimore Police Department spokesman. "This was members of the community working with detectives."

Hill's daughter says the arrest brings some closure, but there's still a trial to attend.

"I don't have any anger,"  she said. "I don't want him to get the death penalty. I just want him to serve his time and get maybe life."

Johnson is behind bars at Central Booking.

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