Judge Finds Homicide Defendant Not Criminally Responsible For First-Degree Murder

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A 22-year-old accused of homicide was found competent but not criminally responsible on March 2 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin.

Deontae Johnson is charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon with intent to injure in connection to an incident on Dec. 9, 2020.

During the proceeding, the prosecutor informed Judge Rasin that the defendant will plead guilty to first-degree murder after being found competent but will not be held criminally responsible.

According to court documents, on Dec. 9 2020, at approximately 9:34 p.m., officers were called to the 1900 block of E. Federal Street. They found a 40-year-old man dead at the scene, laying face up on the hallway floor.

The defendant forced his way into the victim’s home and trashed it. A witness identified Johnson as the murderer.

The victim’s cause of death was sharp force injuries. Prior to the incident, the victim and Johnson got into a physical altercation.

“My life has been shattered forever by the death of my son who was only 40-year-old,” the victim’s mother wrote in her impact statement. “He was my oldest son, and I am devastated I will never see him again in this life. I enjoyed spending time with him at outings and family gatherings. He would always take me out on my birthday and Mother’s Day before he was senselessly, violently and cruelly murdered. I love all three of my children, now there is an emptiness inside of me after my son’s death. His tragic death will haunt me every day for the rest of my life. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him.”

According to WMAR Baltimore, Johnson fatally stabbed a 40-year-old man on the 1900 block of E. Federal Street on Dec. 9, 2020.

Judge Rasin’s official ruling was that the defendant is competent but not criminally responsible.

Johnson was represented by defense attorney Sharon Bogins.

Johnson’s next hearing is scheduled for April 13.