Case for a Co-defendant Gets Dismissed on Second Day of Retrial

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Screams of joy filled the courtroom on July 13 as Lasheena Stewart’s family and friends celebrated her attempted murder case being dismissed by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John Howard.

Stewart had her case dismissed right after the lunch recess on the second day of her retrial for the attempted murder of a 13-year-old girl, with the judge citing reasons he wasn’t able to discuss with the jury and gallery.

The celebration led to several people being removed from the courtroom and almost being found in contempt of court for the disruption.

Although Stewart and her supporters were thrilled, her co-defendant Antwan Newton is still being prosecuted for the crime, despite the victim testifying again that she never saw Newton on the day of the shooting and didn’t remember identifying him as the shooter in a photo array.

Newton’s attorney, Chris Purpura, called Newton’s girlfriend to the stand to testify to his actions on the day of the crime.

Newton’s girlfriend said on the day of the shooting the two spent the entire day together watching movies. She said they left briefly to visit her grandmother. She also mentioned Newton’s little brother came over that night and told them that the victim had been shot.

Newton’s girlfriend said that after Newton’s arrest, police didn’t speak to her, nor did the police ever go to his house to investigate, insinuating she would’ve told police this story if they had interviewed her.

She also said Newton wouldn’t have been on the block where the incident took place because he was on parole and was prohibited from being there. However, the statement was stricken from the record.

Despite this testimony, the defense was denied a motion for judgment of acquittal because of the emotional tie between Newton and his girlfriend.

Newton’s godmother spoke to Baltimore Witness after the trial ended for the day, saying Newton isn’t a violent person and the police did a poor job by interviewing only two people and not testing large quantities of evidence. She said they arrested the wrong person.

“BPD did not have any evidence, didn’t come to his house, didn’t talk to no one,” Newton’s godmother said.

She also said she was angry that police ignored a tip that could’ve led to another suspect.

“There was an anonymous tip given to Metro Police, who didn’t check on it because they didn’t feel the need to because the victim picked him out of the lineup,” Newton’s godmother said.

Newton’s trial is set to begin closing arguments on July 14.