Defense Attorney Files Motion for Competency Evaluation in 2018 Darley Avenue Murder Case

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Defense attorney Paul Batchelor filed a competency evaluation request for his client before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin on June 21.

According to Batchelor, defendant Bryant Whitaker suffers from ADHD and has a history of taking antipsychotic medications.

Whitaker, 26, is charged with first- and second-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime and possession of a regulated firearm.

Judge Rasin approved the request and ordered a competency evaluation.

Whitaker is also charged with the first- and second-degree assaults of two Department of Corrections employees in a separate incident that occurred while he was in custody.

Both cases are awaiting the results of the evaluation before they can go to reception court to set trial dates.

According to charging documents, CCTV footage showed a male later identified as the defendant standing on the northwest corner of Darley Avenue and Aiken Street. The victim, 23-year-old Markell Wall, exited a Ford F150 to begin a conversation with Whitaker, during which the defendant pulled out a gun and allegedly shot at the victim. Whitaker continued to fire while Wall tried to drive away.

When Baltimore Police Department officers arrived on the 1200 block of Darley Avenue, they found the victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.