Convicted Murder Defendant’s Hearing Postponed Due to ‘Missing Information’ Rules Judge

By Ashleigh Joplin [former] - October 28, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

“I, too, am at a disadvantage,” stated a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge on Oct. 26, citing a lack of information to weigh in on a motion for drug treatment filed by a convicted murder defendant.

According to court documents, in August 2021, the Criminal Division Circuit Court for Baltimore City received a petition filed by defendant Levon Stokes for a drug evaluation by the Department of Health.

In the petition, Stokes requested entrance into a residential drug treatment facility citing a 30-year dependency to “marijuana, cocaine, heroin and at times alcohol.” Currently, Stokes is serving a life sentence without the chance for parole.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Kendra Ausby said she lacked the information to proceed with the case, having inherited it from another judge. She said that she was unaware the case included a child victim and needed more time to review the facts.

In 1993, Levon Stokes was convicted of first-degree murder and the use of a handgun to commit a crime in connection with the murder of Angelo Garrison Sr. and his son.

According to court documents, on April 8, 1993, the Baltimore Police Department responded to the 200 block of Park Avenue and found Angelo Garrison Sr. and his three-year-old son, Angelo Jr., suffering from gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred outside Angelo’s Hair Design, where Garrison worked as the shop owner.

The prosecutor standing in during the hearing pushed for a postponement because an attorney had yet to be assigned to the case. He said this time would also allow him to consult with the victims’ family members.

Judge Ausby ordered all parties to reconvene for an in-person hearing on Dec. 19 at 1:00 p.m.

Stokes is represented by attorney William Buie III.