Westminster woman honored for reporting assault, testifying in court

When Valerie Marshall looked out her window in Westminster one night last September, she knew the commotion outside was something out of the ordinary.

In a parking lot across the street, she witnessed a man assaulting and choking a woman before he forced her into an apartment. Where some may have let fear prevent them from coming to the aid of a stranger, Marshall called 911 on behalf of the victim.

Her bravery went further when she agreed to testify as a witness during the trial for the man, later identified as Curtis Frisby.

For these reasons, the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Board of County Commissioners recognized Marshall on Thursday, Aug.24, with the 2017 Citizen Valor Award.

“I was humbled and speechless,” Marshall said upon receiving the award.

This award is given annually, and Marshall is the second recipient.

“I started this last year as a way to recognize how important citizens are in keeping our crime rate so low, as they are ‘eyes and ears’ in crime detection and thank them for being so cooperative with police and prosecutors,” State’s Attorney Brian DeLeonardo said.

Marshall’s advice to others who might find themselves in her situation was “try to help, keep yourself safe and rely on the professionals,” she said.

“If everyone did what you did, we’d have a much safer community than we do already, so thank you,” said Commissioner President Richard Weaver, R-District 2..

The commissioners and the state’s attorney commended Marshall for testifying at the trial despite the fear of personal retaliation. Marshall said she understands why many would choose not to do so.

Judge Richard Titus sentenced Frisby to an eight-year prison sentence for second-degree assault. According to a news release from the Office of the State’s Attorney, Marshall’s testimony was one of the key factors in obtaining the conviction. Between the assault case and another conviction for violating his probation, Frisby was sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison.

“This was an individual that had a long history of violence, including violence against women, so for her to ... still be willing to do that for the community was really deserving [of the award].” DeLeonardo said.

“We enjoy the lowest crime rate in the state of Maryland [in Carroll County], and we do that because we do have citizens actively involved,” DeLeonardo added. “We see other areas of the state sometimes where that cooperation between citizens and the police is not the same, and we count that as a real luxury that we have such great support in the community for law enforcement.”

The Citizen Valor award was previously awarded to Jacob Kucharski, at the time 19, for his quick response when he came across a murder scene while driving home.

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