A 36-year-old man facing a life sentence in connection to an ongoing attempted murder investigation is expected to have his jury trial this February.
On Dec. 1, defense attorney Romel Showell stood in for Karyn Meriwether when he rejected a plea offer on the behalf of defendant Durel Jones. The prosecutor offered Jones to serve life, suspending all but 30 years, and five years of supervised probation for attempted first-degree murder and a concurrent five years without parole for using a firearm in a crime of violence. The defendant would also be required to stay away from the victim and register as a gun offender after his release from prison.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland and counsel agreed on a three-day trial before Judge Althea M. Handy, beginning Feb. 18, 2026.
Jones is accused of shooting a 42-year-old man just after midnight at the intersection of Cliftview and Sherwood avenues on June 15, according to court documents. Baltimore Police were called to the intersection of Harford Road and E. 25th Street where they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to his right thigh inside a Citgo gas station at 2330 Harford Road.
While the victim was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment, officers found three 9mm casings on the 2400 block of Sherwood Avenue. Police initially responded to a ShotSpotter alert on the 2400 block of Sherwood Avenue less than 10 minutes before the shooting on June 15 but found no casings.
Court documents state that Jones is one of two suspects involved in the incident. The victim told police that he was walking on Sherwood and Cliftview avenues when he heard footsteps, turned around, and saw two unknown individuals wearing all black. When the victim began running away, he heard a few gunshots before realizing he had been shot.
Police reported that city surveillance footage of the scene was consistent with the victim’s statement.
