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Andrew Michaels
- January 23, 2023
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A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge granted defense counsel’s postponement request for the trial of a Cumberland man accused of two murders, one of which he allegedly committed in jail while awaiting trial for another homicide.
Gordon Staron, 34, was first arrested in early September 2022 after Baltimore Police identified him as the suspect in the fatal stabbing of 63-year-old Keith Bell. According to the Baltimore Sun, Staron strangled his cellmate, Javarick Gantt, to death inside their cell at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Facility only a month later.
During reception court on Jan. 20, Staron’s defense attorney, Jason Silverstein, informed Judge Melissa Copeland that his client pleaded not criminally responsible by reason of insanity in both murders and was awaiting results from the Maryland Department of Health to determine Staron’s competency to stand trial. The results will be revealed in court on March 15.
A prosecutor on the call told Judge Copeland that they are seeking life without the possibility of parole for both murders.
Staron’s trial was tentatively set for April 17.
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