Shooting Defendant Awaits Trial Date

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On Sept. 8, defendant Damian Palmer who has a pending plea offer didn’t receive a trial date in an appearance before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn

Damian Palmer, represented by James Sweeting III, was charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, discharging a firearm within Baltimore City and having a handgun on his person in connection to an incident on March 23.

On Sept. 8, Palmer received a plea offer from the prosecutor.

The plea offered 65 years, suspending all but 30 years, for attempted first-degree murder, a concurrent sentence of five years without the possibility of parole for firearm use in a felony violent crime and a consecutive sentence of five years without the possibility of parole for possession of a firearm with a felony conviction. The total aggregated sentence would be 65 years, suspending all but 30 years, the first 10 without the possibility of parole with 10 years of supervised probation. Palmer rejected the plea offer.

Palmer, 48, will reappear in reception court on Oct. 6 for to his jury trial.

According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, on March 25, at approximately 11:55 p.m., a Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officer responded to the 7200 block of Harford Road for reports of a shooting. The officer found the victim with wounds to his hand, abdomen and knee. A witness later identified Palmer in a photo display.