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By
Andrew Michaels
- January 12, 2024
Court
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Daily Stories
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Non-Fatal Shooting
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Defense counsel for 36-year-old non-fatal shooting defendant Louis Franklin argued no shooting ever occurred during an incident last fall for which his client was charged, despite the prosecutor’s assertion that shell casings were found at the scene.
Franklin is currently charged with two counts of first and second-degree assault, firearm possession with a felony conviction, firearm use in a felony or violent crime, having a handgun on his person, having a loaded handgun on his person and firing a gun in Baltimore City for an alleged shooting on Nov. 24, 2023.
On Jan. 12, the defendant and his attorney, Martin Cohen, appeared for a bail review before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey M. Geller where defense counsel said his client was “violently accosted” by a former female friend with “jealousy issues.”
Cohen said the alleged victim and her family and friends attacked Franklin’s wife and 16-year-old daughter in the front yard of their home. Franklin was only wearing a towel when he came outside during the incident, the defense attorney explained.
“Everybody agrees: There’s no gun. This was just an attack on his family,” Cohen told the judge, noting that Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers searched the defendant’s home and vehicle, but never found a firearm, nor does Franklin own a firearm.
A prosecutor standing in for the assistant state’s attorney assigned to the case said two shell casings and a projectile were found at the scene; however, Cohen argued they were found in the street. Witnesses and the female victim later identified the defendant and there was possibly video surveillance footage of the incident, the prosecutor added.
Given this information, Judge Geller agreed to release Franklin on home detention and he is to have no contact with the victims.
Franklin is next scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment on Jan. 18.