2 Defendants Found Competent to Stand Trial in Mental Health Court

By Mackenzie Wright [former] - April 21, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Two defendants were found competent to stand trial, with varying assessments of criminal responsibility, in Baltimore City Circuit Court on April 20, before Judge Gale E. Rasin. 

Vincent Cooper is charged with attempted first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, use of a firearm during a violent crime, and reckless endangerment in connection to an incident on Oct. 30, 2021.

Cooper was found both competent to stand trial and criminally responsible for an incident that occurred in late 2021. 

The defendant was represented by attorney Roland Harris.

According to Fox Baltimore, Cooper is alleged to have shot a 53-year-old woman on the 3600 block of Gibbons Avenue around 7 a.m. following a dispute. It is unclear what led to Cooper’s arrest in the shooting at this time. 

Cooper’s trial is scheduled for Dec. 21, over a year after the shooting occurred. 

Gerald Smith, who was identified by Fox Baltimore as a repeat offender, was apprehended in Georgia for the May 2, 2020, and May 3, 2020, murders of Marvis Pollock and Brittany Hayes-Smith, respectively. 

Smith was found competent to stand trial by physicians at Circuit Court Medical. He will now be evaluated for criminal responsibility before his next hearing. 

Smith was represented by attorney Karyn Meriwether.

Smith’s next hearing is scheduled for June 22.