Shooting Defendant Remains on House Arrest

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On March 15, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey M. Geller held a bail review hearing for a 24-year-old non-fatal shooting defendant that would have no effect on his detention status, as the circumstances that necessitated the proceeding were reverted before the parties could come to court.

Jeremiah Dairo is charged with three counts each of first- and second-degree assault and single counts of firearm use in a felony violent crime, reckless endangerment, firing and discharging a firearm and malicious destruction of property under $1000.

Dairo’s attorney Augustine Okeke filed the motion for a new bail review hearing because Dairo received a message from Maryland saying it could no longer pay for his home detention due to a budgetary crisis

By Friday’s hearing however, the Department of Corrections found the necessary funds and issued a notice saying it could keep Dairo under home detention.

Nevertheless, Judge Geller allowed Okeke to argue for his client. He told the court Dairo was a registered gun owner with a conceal and carry license who shot into the air during an Aug. 12, 2023, incident to scare off a group of three juveniles who were vandalizing his car on the 500 block of Radnor Avenue.

Okeke asked Judge Geller to release Dairo on his own recognizance and allow him to work, as before this offense, he was gainfully employed as a commercial driver.

The stand-in prosecutor reiterated the state now had the funding to keep Dairo under home detention, so Okeke’s motion was moot. Regardless, she said Dairo admitted to shooting the gun and throwing one of the youth’s bicycles on the ground.

“Someone could’ve been killed,” she said, before concluding her statement asking for there to be no change in Dairo’s detention status.

“I think the [prosecution] is being dramatic,” Okeke responded. He reiterated that his client was a trained and licensed gun owner, who only resorted to shooting the gun after verbal discouragement didn’t work and the pattern of vandalism continued.

Judge Geller said that he would not overturn the previous judge’s finding to keep Dairo under house arrest since there was no substantive change in circumstances that would necessitate this bail review. He denied Okeke’s motion.

Dairo’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 2 before Judge Kendra Y. Ausby.

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