A 43-year-old mother accused of shooting at her son and injuring another woman earlier this year had her attempted murder charges dismissed on Sept. 4 following prosecutorial prejudice.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland dismissed the 10 charges against Jacquetta Cariece Jackson, including multiple counts of attempted first and second-degree murder, first-degree assault and additional weapons charges.
According to court documents and the Baltimore Police Department, Jackson got into an argument with her son, who was sitting with a 22-year-old woman in a 2011 Lexus on the 3600 block of Park Heights Avenue on Jan. 24. Jackson allegedly took out a silver firearm and shot at the two victims, striking the woman’s left knee and grazing her right calf.
Around 1:14 p.m., Baltimore Police were called to the 2400 block of Keyworth Avenue, where the woman was found in the Lexus and taken Sinai Hospital for treatment.
Jackson was arrested without incident on Feb. 11.
During Thursday’s hearing, the judge expressed her concern over the prosecution’s actions, much of which was discussed off-the-record and alongside Jackson’s defense attorney, Martin Cohen.
Judge Copeland said her confusion stemmed from the prosecutor’s request on Sept. 3 — Jackson’s trial date — for Judge Piper F. McKeithen to issue a court order requiring the victim to appear at trial. Although the prosecutor previously said the victim was not needed at trial, the prosecutor asked for the body attachment warrant after saying she heard “concerns of the victim.”
The prosecutor and Cohen had several off-the-record conversations with Judge McKeithen at the judge’s bench on Wednesday, which was further delayed as no jurors were available for selection by mid-morning nor in the afternoon.
When Judge McKeithen sent the case to postponement court on Thursday, the prosecutor informed Judge Copeland that she was ill. Judge Copeland noted that the prosecutor did not inform Judge McKeithen that she was unwell, adding that she saw was “a decline in [the prosecutor’s] demeanor after this incident” and deemed the prosecutor’s action’s prejudicial.
Judge Copeland denied the prosecutor’s request to postpone the case until Sept. 5 and pending the victim’s availability, leading to the case’s dismissal.
