The murder trial of Emmanuel King, 39, was postponed on April 20 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland due to a late disclosure of evidence from the prosecutor.
Though the trial was initially scheduled to proceed, defense counsel noted they had not received critical cellphone evidence until March, leading the case to be transferred to reception court for a postponement date.
King is charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and multiple counts of firearm use, armed robbery and conspiracy for his alleged involvement in a double murder that occurred last summer.
Charging documents state that on July 2, 2025, police responded to the 3000 block of Westfield Avenue to find 32-year-old Franklin Hughes with a gunshot wound to his chest. Hughes was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to an eyewitness, a white sedan with black-and-silver rims were seen pulling up next to Hughes and an unnamed white female on the 6400 block of Milton Lane before the driver exited the vehicle, pointed a laser-equipped gun at the female and demanded, “Gimme all your s**t.”
The white female began to flee, and a suspect exited the sedan’s rear, pointing a gun at Hughes. After repeating his earlier demand, the suspect reportedly shot Hughes.
Police investigation later revealed that the white sedan was a Nissan Altima reportedly registered to King. The car was found linked to a cellphone number that King supposedly used to call the police several years prior, and location data from the same cellphone placed King near the scene of Hughes’ death.
Police arrested King nine days later, on July 11, 2025.
On April 20, defense attorney Mary Patton informed the court she had not received King’s cellphone data until the month prior.
The state’s attorney explained that although they had obtained the data in August, the extraction process took longer because the phone needed to be “cracked.” The prosecutor added that Patton had gained access to the data over a month before trial was scheduled to proceed.
The prosecution stated they were “not opposed” to a postponement, calling it “a fair request.”
Judge Robert K. Taylor ruled the delayed disclosure constituted a discovery violation and stated he had “no choice” but to send the matter to postponement court. He ordered counsel to set a motion hearing date to discuss the outstanding cellphone data.
Judge Copeland set a motion hearing for May 14 before Judge Lynn Stewart Mays.
The jury trial was postponed to June 9, and is now set to proceed before Judge Kendra Y. Ausby.
