Maryland Police Seek Prison Guard for Allegedly Killing Wife, Wounding Teen Stepson

[Karnaj]

Saturday, July 28, 2007

BALTIMORE — A prison guard fatally shot his wife during an argument at their home and wounded his 13-year-old stepson before fleeing, police said Saturday.

Authorities were searching for Donald Webb Jr., 48, a lieutenant in the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services who works as a supervisor at the Baltimore City Correctional Center, a minimum-security facility.

He is accused of shooting his wife, Cynthia, several times with a handgun late Friday in the bedroom of their rowhouse. Webb then ran downstairs and shot the boy multiple times, said Officer Troy Harris, a police spokesman.

Cynthia Webb, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the boy was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, police said. His condition was not immediately available, and police did not release the boy's name.

"He was considered a good officer, and there was no indication by administrators or co-workers that there were any problems going on," said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the Division of Correction.
Webb is a 17-year veteran of the department and is part of the upper administration at the prison, Doggett said.

He has been charged with first-degree murder and does not have a criminal record, Harris said.