Defense Attorney Aims to Have Evidence Excluded Against Defendant Accused of Shooting at Family in Car

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

Defendant Devontay Reed and his attorney, Martin Cohen, appeared in reception court on Aug. 14 for the purpose of rejecting the prosecution’s plea offer and suggesting a motion.

The plea included a sentence of 80 years for attempted first-degree murder, suspending all but 40 years, with five years of supervised probation, including prohibited contact with the victim. The plea also included a sentence of 20 years without the possibility of parole within the first five for the use of a firearm in a violent crime. Additionally, he was offered a total sentence of 15 years for three counts of reckless endangerment. All of these sentences would be set to run concurrently.

Cohen rejected the offer on Reed’s behalf, and he wanted to begin the trial the same day. With an approaching Hick’s date of Aug. 30, the assistant state’s attorney asked for a continuance. A defendant’s Hick’s date is is their right to a trial within 180 days of their first appearance or their attorney’s first appearance in court.

With the Hick’s date in mind, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn scheduled his trial for Aug. 29 before Judge Martin P. Welch.

Cohen mentioned that he received evidence the previous week, and suggested a motion to exclude a statement from the victims. Cohen said that whether the case moves forward or not is dependent on the motion’s outcome.

Although the prosecution held the belief that the motion would be a “waste of time,” Phinn advised that it would be heard by Judge Yolanda A. Tanner.

According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, on Jan. 25, officers at the Eastside District Courthouse were approached by a defendant who explained that he had been shot at numerous times while inside his vehicle with his girlfriend and two children.

According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, the defendant explained that he was traveling west bound on the 1600 block of E. Oliver Street, where units later discovered five spent shell casings. With the help of private cameras, Reed was later identified as a suspect.

Reed is charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, four counts each of first- and second-degree assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, five counts of use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, illegally possessing a regulated firearm, having a loaded handgun on his person, having a handgun on his person, having a gun within 100 years of the public, firing a gun within Baltimore City and illegally possessing ammo.