BALTIMORE — An arranged meeting between a man and woman leads to murder in West Baltimore.
Lenora Alston, 35, was shot to death overnight on March 15.
It happened right outside her mother's home on N. Fulton Avenue.
Charging documents say that's where she met up with a man nicknamed "Ratchet."
Investigators were able to access Alston's iPhone which revealed "Ratchet's" phone number and Instagram name.
Police linked both to a guy named Reginald Peay.
Detectives got a warrant to ping his phone.
On March 15, Peay was tracked down in the 2300 block of E. North Avenue.
When approached by officers, Peay tried unsuccessfully to get away. In the process he allegedly threw a gun on top of a roof, but police say it was not the murder weapon.
Inside his pocket, however, were keys to a white Chevy Malibu, which is what Peay picked Alston up in the night she was killed.
Camera footage that night shows two people struggling inside the car. Eventually the front passenger gets out, at which point fire flashes can be seen.
The car then speeds off. Officers who initially responded to the shooting recalled seeing a similar car fleeing the area.
It's unclear how Alston and Peay knew each other.
According to court records, Peay has two past felony convictions for unlawfully carrying a firearm. There's also a question of how Peay was free to murder Alston.
Back in April 2021 he was sentenced in Harford County to 15 years in prison, yet a judge suspended all but five-years, meaning his sentence should still be ongoing.
Then in May of 2016 Peay was convicted of drug possession in Baltimore City. For that he received five-years jail time, with all but two days suspended.
He was instead ordered to serve three-years probation.
About a year later in July 2017, Peay violated the terms when he was caught with a gun. This put him back behind bars for the remainder of the suspended term.
