Two Co-Defendants Charged with Double Murder Reject Plea Deal

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Two co-defendants involved in a double homicide rejected a plea of two life sentences on Feb. 9 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn.

Raekwon Griffin, 20, and Montay Shuler, 22, are charged with three counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to armed robbery, and two counts of use of a firearm during a violent crime in connection to an incident on Aug. 5, 2021.

Griffin is also charged with possession of a firearm as a minor, and possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute.

Shuler is also charged with illegal possession of a regulated firearm.

During reception court on Wednesday, Judge Phinn listened as the prosecutor offered Griffin and Shuler the same pleas: including a life sentence for first-degree murder, and 20 years, the first five without the possibility of parole, for use of a firearm during a violent crime. The charges are set to run consecutively.

Griffin and Shuler’s defense attorneys Kenneth Mann and Maureen O’Leary, respectively, rejected the plea offer.

According to the Baltimore Police Department, on Aug. 5 around 8:20 p.m., officers responded to reports of a shooting on the 4300 block of Flowerton Road. They found two men in a vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

The unconscious men were taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where they both succumbed to their injuries. The victims were later identified as 26-year-old Brian Christopher Palmer and 33-year-old Darrin Tyrell Stewart.

The co-defendants are scheduled to be tried together on Nov. 29 with Judge Phillip Jackson presiding.

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