A Baltimore man accused in a fatal double shooting near the University of Maryland campus last June announced his desire to accept a plea agreement before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer on Oct. 27, leading attorneys to continue the matter into the following day with the aim of setting a plea hearing date.
Munir Dawan Matin, 37, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of firearm use in a felony crime of violence, armed carjacking, and armed robbery in connection to two back-to-back shooting incidents that occurred on June 2, 2024.
Charging documents state Matin was seen shooting Jarmal Damien Harrid, 34, multiple times in the head and torso after the two engaged in an altercation outside of a convenience store near the 500 block of W. Mulberry Street. Medics responding to the incident, which occurred just minutes before 4 a.m., pronounced Harrid deceased at the scene.
Matin was then allegedly seen arguing with Terrell Johnson-Smith, 32, on the 900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. Shortly after, area surveillance cameras captured a suspect identified as Matin shooting the victim and taking his black backpack. Johnson-Smith was pronounced deceased the following day at the University of Maryland hospital.
Investigators arrested Matin just eight days later, on the 400 block of Fallsway in Central Baltimore.
The prosecution offered Matin a binding plea of life, suspending all but 60 years, followed by five years of supervised probation for the charges of first-degree murder and firearm use in a felony crime of violence. The prosecution noted Matin previously rejected the offer, but had recently changed his mind.
Judge Schiffer assured the court she would keep an “open mind about accepting the plea,” noting the case required serious consideration due to the severity of Matin’s alleged crimes.
A victim’s advocacy representative requested a one-week continuation in the matter until Nov. 3, noting the ample time would allow Johnson’s and Harrid’s families to prepare to attend the plea hearing.
Dissatisfied with the possibility of a weeklong wait, Judge Schiffer ordered counsel to reconvene the following day, Oct. 28, in her courtroom for a remote scheduling hearing.
