Homicide Defendant Fires Attorney, Represents Himself As Jury Trial Begins

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“This is unusual. Why do I say this is unusual? Because I’m the defendant.”

Hours earlier, on Aug. 28, defendant George Pullet fired his defense attorney, James Sweeting III, in open court, claiming his counsel rarely visited him to discuss the case and review evidence in preparation for trial. Instead, the 59-year-old defendant told Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer that he would represent himself and proceeded with his scheduled jury trial.

Before the jury was escorted into the Mitchell Courthouse courtroom, Pullet was visibly frustrated and angry with Judge Schiffer, accusing the judge of “making him” proceed to jury without adequate representation. This was despite Judge Schiffer’s previously discussions on the defendant’s right to fair representation and how the case would proceed if the defendant chose to represent himself.

This back-and-forth continued up until the jury was escorted into the courtroom and took their seats.

There were two victims in this case, the prosecutor said: 54-year-old Randolph Watson and his 55-year-old wife. On May 21, 2020, the defendant fatally shot Watson once in the head and three times in the back and shot the victim’s wife four times at the couple’s home on the 100 block of S. Morgan Street. Wounded, the woman dragged herself to her neighbor’s house and called 911.

Pullet was arrested at Lexington Market on June 2, 2020, and was found with a revolver that the prosecutor said firearms experts would testify couldn’t be excluded as the murder weapon used weeks earlier.

The surviving victim identified Pullet as the shooter via a photo array presented by Baltimore Police Department officers.

“Each and every piece of testimony and evidence will be a building block,” the prosecutor concluded. “…Don’t check your common sense at the door and don’t be swayed by sympathy.”

As Pullet approached the jury for his opening statement, he repeatedly referred to himself as “my client” as he informed jurors of an alleged strained relationship between Watson and his wife. The latter was “very confused” and suffers from bipolar disorder, he said, indicating domestic issues in the household.

“I wasn’t having sex with her or sex with him,” Pullet continued, accusing Watson of the crime for which the defendant was charged. “…I got all the people against me: the [assistant] state’s attorney [and] the judge.”

The surviving victim was the first witness called by the prosecution, with testimony expected to continue on Aug. 29.

Pullet is currently facing multiple life sentences for charges of first-degree murder, attempted first and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, firearm possession with a felony conviction and two counts of firearm use in a felony or violent crime.