An Abingdon man who was found not criminally responsible for a double murder in Washington County is now set to be tried this May over a separate shooting that occurred in Northwest Baltimore over three years ago.
The defendant, 24-year-old Javon Delonta Hines, is charged with attempted murder, assault and two gun offenses for reportedly shooting a man in his liver and kidneys on the 3300 block of Bayonne Avenue. The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2022, and Hines was arrested less than a month later after officers allegedly found him in possession of a 9mm Glock G48 pistol.
Confirmation of Hines’ competency reached mental health court Judge Gale E. Rasin on July 2, 2025, when counsel announced the defendant had been declared fit for transfer back into general prison from a psychiatric assessment hold at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital.
The finding came a year after Hines pleaded guilty to the deaths of 40-year-old Elise Wars and her 4-year-old daughter, Khori Ashton, in Washington County Circuit Court. Proceedings in the double murder case wrapped in June 2024 after the court found Hines not criminally responsible due to a schizophrenia diagnosis. Wars and Ashton had been found deceased in a hotel room off Dual Highway in Hagerstown, less than a month after the Bayonne Avenue shooting.
Hines’ trial is now set to commence on May 18 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Michael A. DiPietro, 10 months after the jurisdiction heard of his positive competency evaluation. The defendant is represented by defense attorneys Janet Andersen and Robert Cohen.
At a March 2 scheduling hearing, state counsel informed the court that they are double-booked for trial on May 18, but that Hines’ matter will take precedence.
Reception court Judge Melissa K. Copeland allotted five days for trial proceedings.
