Attempted Murder Defendant Declared Competent to Stand Trial

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Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin ruled that Javon Hines, 24, was competent to stand trial on July 2 after his not criminally responsible (NCR) evaluation found him sound enough in mind to be considered criminally responsible for his alleged actions.

Next week, Hines will be transferred from Clifton T. Perkins Hospital—where he was being assessed—back to prison while he awaits trial.

Hines is charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder as well as first- and second-degree assault and several related firearm violations. These charges are related to an incident that occurred on Oct. 21, 2022, near the 3300 block of Bayonne Avenue.

The victim was found by Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers and taken to the hospital, where he was treated for two gunshot wounds.

With help from eyewitnesses, BPD identified Hines as the shooter. The defendant was arrested on Nov. 16, 2022, when he was reportedly found a Glock G48 semi-automatic pistol in his possession. Ballistics evidence linked the Glock to the scene of the crime.

Hines was also charged in the 2022 murder of Elise Wars, 40, and her four-year-old daughter, Khori Ashton, in Washington County Circuit Court. The two were found in a hotel room in Hagerstown.

Investigators discovered the two had been residing there for months. They also learned that Wars told her family she was seeing a man known as “Wic” for a few weeks. Wic was later identified as Hines.

Hines pleaded guilty to the double homicide of Ward and Khori, but was found not criminally responsible by the Washington County Circuit Court.

Now determined fit to stand trial in Baltimore City, Hines is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing for his attempted murder charges on July 25.