FORMER MARYLAND HOME IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH EXTORTION

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that a criminal information has been filed in the District Court of Maryland, Baltimore County charging 31 year old Teera Armstrong Murray of the 1600 block of East Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore, Maryland with one count of Extortion by a State Employee. It is alleged that between December 7, 2004 and December 10, 2004, Murray, who was a State employee with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, attempted to extort $400.00 from an applicant for a home improvement license. It is alleged Murray demanded the $400.00 as a condition of getting the license. The trial is scheduled in the District Court of Maryland in Towson on October 25, 2005.

All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the maximum penalty for Extortion by a State Employee is incarceration not exceeding six months and/or a maximum fine of $500.00.

The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigations Division and was investigated by CID with the assistance of the Baltimore County Police Department and a Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation investigator. Maryland State Police effected the arrest.

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