Judge Schedules Attempted Murder Defendant’s Trial in Case of August 2022 Shooting

By , Ashleigh Joplin [former] - February 9, 2023
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A defendant charged with first and second-degree murder rejected a plea offer and was assigned a new trial date on Feb. 8.

Defendant Darius Peay appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn on Wednesday, where he rejected a plea offer of two concurrent sentences of life, suspending all but 35 years with five years of supervised probation for attempted first-degree murder and a consecutive sentence of five years without the possibility of parole for firearm use in a felony violent crime. 

Judge Phinn set a new trial date for July 17 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gregory Sampson. The trial is expected to last four days.

Peay, who is represented by James Sweeting III, faces 28 charges related to an incident on Aug. 6, 2022, which includes two counts each of attempted first and second-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, two counts each of first and second-degree assault, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, reckless endangerment in addition to numerous weapons charges.

According to a Baltimore Police Department (BPD), Peay was arrested and charged with shooting a 37-year-old male after a dispute that occurred on the corner of Laurens and Pennsylvania Avenue.