Man faces counts of murder, cop attack

Bill Gang

Friday, June 14, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Although the dark cloud of three murder charges still is shadowing a convicted robber, his more immediate problem involves charges that he tried to kill two Metro Police officers in a high speed chase.

Kareem Ali Brock, 21, pleaded not guilty in that case and a second attempted murder case alleging he shot a man in a dispute over a dice game.

A second man, 27-year-old Bobby Bailey, also pleaded not guilty to charges that he was involved with Brock in the May 8 incident with the the Metro officers, who escaped injury.

District Judge Jeff Sobel set an Aug. 5 trial date for the pair, who demanded their right to a speedy trial.

Brock already faces trial Sept. 30 on attempted murder charges in the Jan. 14 shooting of Michael Clemons as he pumped gas at a convenience store at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

He and Bailey also face a June 21 preliminary hearing in the early morning drive-by shooting of 24-year-old Randall Miller outside his apartment in the 700 block of Marion Street.

Miller, who was shot in the shoulder and leg, told police he has no gang affiliation and didn't know his attackers.

That incident precipitated the confrontation less than an hour later with the Metro officers, according to Metro spokesman Sgt. Greg McCurdy.

Deputy District Attorney Victoria Villegas said the 9 mm casings found outside Miller's residence match those left behind by those who tried to kill the officers.

That incident began when Officers John Faulis and Jon Scott spotted a green Oldsmobile matching the description of the one used in the Miller drive-by.

After following the vehicle for several blocks, the officers suddenly found themselves being fired on by the driver and passenger.

"The officers slammed on their brakes to put distance between them and the suspects," McCurdy said after the incident.

The pursuit resumed -- this time at speeds up to 100 mph -- and the officers dodged more bullets before the green car ran onto a sidewalk and stopped.

The occupants fled on foot, but Faulis and Scott caught one who was hiding with a gun in one hand and an extra ammunition clip in the other under a nearby van.

Backup officers captured two other men as they tried to flee, McCurdy said.

Villegas said that charges against one of those, 21-year-old Tavares Clayborn, were never pursued by the district attorney's office because it could not be shown he fired any shots.

"He did nothing but run from the car," Villegas said.

In the police incident, Bailey and Brock are charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession of stolen property. Brock also is charged with possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

In the dice game shooting a week before the police incident, Brock faces counts of attempted murder, robbery and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

In that incident, according to Villegas, Karey Anderson was shot after Brock became angry after losing some money and took it back. Anderson was shot in the back as he tried to flee.

While Brock, if he is convicted of all charges, could be imprisoned for more than 100 years, things could get even worse.

He is considered to be a suspect in three murders in early November.

Billy Floyd, 21, was shot to death Nov. 5 in the parking lot at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

Rodney Green, 28, was killed Nov. 8 as he rode his bicycle in the 2100 block of Jakobsen Circle at Balzar Avenue.

His shooting death occurred just a few feet from where 32-year-old Roy Lee Kelly died Nov. 1 in a barrage of about 80 bullets fired by four men.

Villegas said homicide detectives are still compiling ballistics and eyewitness evidence in the murders.