Montgomery County park slaying prompts review of suspect’s parole

The two young men arrested in connection with an Oct. 8 slaying in a Montgomery County park have lengthy arrest records.

One of the men was on parole at the time of the killing. The other received what a Montgomery judge called “an extremely light” sentence in 2011 after being accused of choking a man, robbing him and trying to toss him off a second-floor balcony.

It is impossible to say whether the suspects, Earl Bennette, 24, and Shante Gladden, 22, should both have been behind bars on Oct. 8. Cases against them included an important witness backing out and challenges in knowing exactly what happened when crimes occurred. But in Bennette’s past, key moments when he could have been sent back to state prison came and went.

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