Lawyers Can’t Agree on Trial Date for Teen Murder Defendant

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Counsel failed to schedule a trial for an 18-year-old murder defendant before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Middleton on Jan. 4. 

Clifton Shields is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, possession of a firearm as a minor, having a handgun on his person and having a handgun in a vehicle in connection to the murder of 19-year-old Tavon Wilson, Jr

The prosecution did not have an approved plea offer to relay to Shields. Likewise, she and defense attorney Judit Otvos did not have any mutually dates to start the five-day trial until May. 

Judge Middleton continued the hearing to Jan. 19 to resolve the scheduling issue. 

According to a Baltimore Police Department press release, Wilson was found face down in the street on the 600 block of North Arlington Avenue on March 16, 2023. Shields was arrested for the murder in August 2023.