Sentencing Postponed for Accessory in First-Degree Murder

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Defendant Ernest Ford’s sentencing was postponed due to lack of materials and information provided to Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Anthony F. Vittoria.

Ford is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime and having a handgun on a public road.

Set to take place today, the sentencing was postponed for three months. Judge Vittoria claimed “nothing was provided to the court” referencing case files and issues with previous proceedings.

Ford was charged in connection to the killing of 49-year-old MTA bus driver Frankye Duckett. Duckett was killed after an argument with Marquis Poteat, who pleaded guilty last May. Ford previously pleaded guilty to being an accessory in the case in December 2022.

According to a press release from the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, on the 4400 block of Moravia Road, a beige Buick LeSabre, owned by Ford, pulled up next to a bus in a parking lot driven by the victim. Poteat shot through the windows of the bus before climbing inside and continuing to shoot. Poteat then fled the scene in the LeSabre driven by Ford.

Ford will reappear in front of Judge Vittoria the morning of May 16.