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By
Laura Flores
- April 3, 2025
Court
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Daily Stories
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Non-Fatal Shooting
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Shooting
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Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland set a May 27 trial date for shooting defendant Charles Ward in an April 2 hearing.
Ward, 25, is charged with first-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and discharging a gun in the city limits. He is accused of allegedly shooting at his 23-year-old roommate, who reportedly awakened Ward and attacked him with a metal object over liquor Ward consumed months prior to the incident.
The incident occurred on Dec. 1, 2024, inside a residence on the 3600 block of Bowers Avenue.
Previously, Ward was held without bail after a ruling he was a flight risk because he allegedly absconded after the shooting.
During the hearing, Ward and defense attorney Martin Cohen rejected a plea offer of 25 years, suspending all but 10, with five years of supervised probation for the count of first-degree assault. The deal also included five years without parole and a no-contact order with the victim and the victim’s family.
Cohen told the court he was still in the process of negotiating a more favorable deal for Ward and that in the interim he wished to secure a trial before Judge Jeffrey M. Geller.
Ward told Judge Copeland he “didn’t exactly make a decision to go to trial,” and Cohen advised him that the likelihood of a trial depended on the success of plea negotiations.