Less than four months after his trial was set, defendant Antonio Louis Mackey had his attempted murder case postponed on Oct. 6 due to defense counsel’s illness.
Gregory Fischer, chief attorney for the felony trial division at the Office of the Public Defender, stood in place of the 22-year-old defendant’s defense counsel, John Deros, during Monday’s proceeding before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Doory. Fischer said Deros was ill and unable to proceed to trial.
Before the hearing began, a clerk informed Judge Doory that Mackey was reportedly “upset and ripping his shirt off”; however, Mackey remained calm and quiet during his brief hearing. Judge Doory sent Mackey’s case to postponement court, where Judge Melissa K. Copeland granted Fischer’s request to bring the case back to reception court for scheduling on October. 10.
The defendant’s initial trial date fell one day short of his right to be tried within 180 days of his or his attorney’s first court appearance. Fischer noted that Mackey was maintaining his Hick’s trial deadline right.
Mackey is accused of shooting a man on the morning of Jan. 29 on the 200 block of Clay Street. Baltimore Police were called to the intersection of Lexington and Eutaw streets just after 10:20 a.m. and found the victim with a gunshot wound to his lower right hip.
The victim was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
In addition to finding one .40-caliber shell casing, police allegedly recovered video footage of the suspect that they said helped identified Mackey, according to charging documents. The video footage not only captured a clear shot of the defendant’s face, but also identified him by his “unique necklace.”
