Homicide Defendant’s Collateral Hearing Postponed Until November Due to Transfer Issue

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A Baltimore man convicted of murder in 2019 was scheduled to be heard before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Erik S. Atas on Oct. 11 but had his hearing postponed due to a transfer issue.

Defendant Richard Grier was not present for his hearing because he was transferred to the Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) earlier that day instead of the North Branch location.

At the North Branch Location, they have the technological resources for defendants to use zoom for hearings. At JCI, an officer told Judge Atlas that it would unlikely that they would be able to get the defendant transferred back for the hearing at a fashionable time.

Judge Atas proceeded to postpone the collateral hearing until Nov. 23.

In 2019, Grier, 22, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and a concurrent sentence of 20 years for using a firearm in a felony violent crime. A verdict was not rendered on the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. A charge of possession of a regulated firearm was not sent to the jury.

The charges against Grier stem from an incident on Aug. 18, 2018.