A 15-year-old who is accused of shooting and killing a man who approached him and other squeegee workers with a baseball bat in Baltimore rejected a plea agreement last week that called for him to serve 60 years in prison on a charge of first-degree murder.
J. Wyndal Gordon, an attorney representing the teen with Warren Brown, disclosed that offer of life in prison with all but 60 years suspended in a more than 1,100-word post on Monday on his personal Facebook page. He described the case against their client as βone of the most grossly unbalanced prosecutionsβ in the city and state in probably a decade.
Gordon described the information that heβs received so far through discovery in the case and called for those ranging from psychologists and psychiatrists to documentary filmmakers to become part of a pro bono team to help the defense.
Circuit Judge Charles H. Dorsey III is set to consider on Nov. 17 whether to keep the case in adult court or transfer it to the juvenile justice system. At the time, the youth was 14 and a student at Digital Harbor High School.
βCourtroom observers are not only welcome but encouraged to follow us in and out of court throughout the entire litigation process,β Gordon wrote.
The teen is charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the deadly shooting of Timothy Reynolds, 48, of Hampden, which happened on July 7 at the intersection of Light and Conway streets near the Inner Harbor.
The Baltimore Banner obtained a 45-second video of the shooting, but the recording does not show the entire encounter.
In a statement, Emily Witty, a spokesperson for the Baltimore City Stateβs Attorneyβs Office, said the assistant stateβs attorney assigned to the case βsingle-handedly and deliberately developed and conveyed an offerβ without the approval of supervisors or Stateβs Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
Witty said thatβs the normal review protocol and process for homicide cases.
βThat offer has been rescinded,β Witty said.
Reynolds was an engineer and father of three and an avid fan of Baltimore sports. His wife, Shannon, has described him in a statement released through the Snyder Law Group LLC as generous, charming, funny and loyal.
The Reynolds family has notified the city of the intent to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over his death.
βThe evidence in this case will show that Mr. Reynolds did not in any way attack anyone or provoke anyone,β said the Reynolds familyβs attorney, Michael Snyder, in a previous statement. βHe was a great son, husband and father who loved Baltimore city.β
The teen is being held without bail in the Youth Detention Center.
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