Judge Sets Trial Date for Harford County Man Accused of Fatal Stabbing

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On Nov. 16, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland scheduled a 34-year-old Abingdon man’s murder trial.

Gordon Zacharie Staron is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon with intent to injure in connection to the Sept. 6, 2022, murder of 63-year-old Keith Bell.

Defense attorney Jason Silverstein told the court that because his client was still being evaluated by a psychologist for criminal responsibility, the trial date set today would be tentative.

Silverstein said since his client is being held in North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, he’s had difficulty finding doctors willing to travel to meet with Staron.

The prosecution’s doctor found, after a nine-month evaluation process, that Staron was criminally responsible, but the defense wanted another expert’s opinion to present at trial.

Silverstein rejected the prosecution’s offer of life without the possibility of parole on Staron’s behalf.

Judge Copeland scheduled Staron’s 10-day trial to begin on April 2, 2024, before Judge Lynn S. Mays.

Documents from the District Court of Maryland state that Baltimore Police Department officers responded to the 1400 block of East Monument Street, where they found Bell unresponsive at a bus stop with multiple stab wounds. CCTV footage revealed the suspect fleeing the scene in a Toyota Tacoma. Using a license plate reader, detectives found that the car belonged to Staron’s mother.

When police came to the family’s Harford County home in Abingdon, Staron came outside armed with a shotgun and pocket knife. Family members also told police that Staron habitually carried a straight-blade knife on his person and had it with him on the day of the murder.