Judge Denies Bail for Woman Charged in Shooting

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A Baltimore judge deemed a shooting defendant “a threat to public safety” before denying her bail on May 27.

According to Baltimore City Circuit Court’s bail docket, Leonda Haynes is charged with attempted first-degree murder. Both the prosecution and defense attorney Jonathan Kerr also confirmed this charge; however, it does not appear on the Maryland Judiciary website.

The website states that Haynes is charged with first and second-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime, reckless endangerment, firing a handgun, having a loaded handgun on her person, having a handgun on her person, and malicious destruction of property valued over $1,000.

During the bail hearing, the prosecution said that nine shell casings were found at the scene and a neighbor confirmed hearing gunshots before bullet holes pierced through his front door.

Kerr said that Haynes has had 17 cases either dismissed or indefinitely postponed since March 2020, the majority of which have involved the same individual. The defendant’s only conviction was for second-degree assault in 2021, he said, with her probation set to expire in 2023.

Judge Jeannie J. Hong informed the court that given Haynes was on probation at the time of the alleged crime, the defendant was a threat to public safety, and Haynes’ bail was denied.

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