Attempted Murder Defendant Receives April Trial Date

By Ting Hong [former] - February 1, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

During a reception court hearing on Jan. 30, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn scheduled a trial date for an attempted murder defendant. 

Defendant Levar Brown, who was represented by stand-in defense attorney Eric Berman during the hearing, rejected a plea presented to him by the prosecution. 

Brown, 31, was offered a plea of life, suspending all but 15 years with five years of supervised probation for attempted first-degree murder and a sentence of 15 years with the first five years without the possibility of parole for use of a firearm in a felony violent crime. The defendant would also be required to stay away from the victim and register as a gun offender. The plea would be served concurrently with an additional case the defendant is facing. 

Berman said he was working on another plea.

At Monday’s hearing, Judge Phinn scheduled the defendant for a two-day trial beginning on April 17. The selected trial date went beyond Brown’s Hick’s date, which is his right to be tried within 180 days of his first court appearance or his attorney’s. 

Judge Phinn found probable cause to go past this date because the prosecution was not available before April 1. A judge has yet to be assigned to this case. 

According to the Maryland Judiciary website, Brown is charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, and discharging firearms in connection to an incident on July 19, 2022.