An attempted homicide defendant accused of shooting her boyfriend over upsetting text messages had her reception court hearing pushed about two weeks on Aug. 19 when Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland and counsel were unable to find her in the city’s jail system.
Autumichie Forbes-Jones, 36, was scheduled to appear before Judge Copeland, who said she believed the defendant was on the street because she was not on the court’s lockup list. However, defense attorney Michele Murphy informed the court that Forbes-Jones has been incarcerated since her arrest.
After further discussion, Judge Copeland and counsel determined they had different state identification numbers, or SID numbers, associated with the defendant. In the criminal justice system, all defendants receive a SID number that is linked to their fingerprints and criminal history.
Counsel provided Judge Copeland with the correct SID number and agreed to return to reception court on Sept. 9 to further discuss the case.
Murphy also told the court that it was unlikely Forbes-Jones would be tried before her Oct. 26 Hicks date. Defense counsel said she was unsure if she would be able to disclose information on a potential defense expert to the prosecution in a timely manner.
Forbes-Jones is charged with attempted murder, assault and weapons violations in connection to the shooting on March 27. Around midnight, Baltimore Police were called to a home on the 3500 block of Old York Road, where they found the victim, Forbes-Jones’ boyfriend, in the basement with a gunshot wound to his torso, according to court documents.
During their investigation, police spoke with a witness who said he was on a FaceTime call with the victim just before the shooting. Prior to the shooting, the victim told the witness that the defendant was upset over text messages she found on his phone and that she said she was going to shoot him. In court documents, the witness told police that he saw Forbes-Jones with a silver handgun before the call ended and then received a text from the victim moments later, stating that he had been shot and was dying.
The victim was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
The defendant willingly spoke with police and confirmed that she was on her boyfriend’s phone and saw text messages, which led to an argument. However, Forbes-Jones explained, she then took the gun allegedly belonging to the victim — removed the magazine and threw live rounds at the victim. As the couple’s argument continued, court documents state, the defendant told police she fired the gun at the victim when he attempted to take it from her.
Forbes-Jones noted that she believed the handgun was empty with no ammunition. She also told police that she put the handgun in a toilet tank on the first floor, which was later recovered and identified as a silver Kimber Micro 9mm handgun. One spent shell casing was also found inside the toilet tank.
Additional recovered evidence included a projectile inside the basement bedroom wall and 17 live 9mm rounds inside a drawer in the bed as well as suspected blood, electronic devices and Forbes-Jones’ clothing.
