Accused Gretna Court Homicide Defendants Rejects Plea for 2022 Shooting

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On July 18, an accused homicide defendant rejected a guilty plea offer in the murder of 32-year-old Brittany Keyser before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong

Defendant Joel Ugah and his defense counsel Lawrence Rosenburg rejected a plea of life, suspending all but 50 years with five years of supervised probation for first-degree murder, five years without the possibility of parole for the use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, and life suspending all but five years for attempted first-degree murder. All sentences were to run concurrently.

On July 24, a mistrial was declared in the case against Ugah because the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.

Ugah, 37, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of the use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, having a handgun in his vehicle and having a handgun on his person in connection to an incident that occurred on April 15, 2022.

According to court documents, police responded to a tip a random citizen called police about two people who had been shot and were lying face down on the ground nearby the 800 block of Gretna Court. One of the victims suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was transferred to the University of Maryland Hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition. Keyser died from her injuries.

The next hearing will be on July 19 to decide a trial date before Judge Hong.