In a reception court hearing on Sept. 3 before Baltimore City Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland, a suspect in a text-related shooting, turned down a plea offer and agreed to go to trial.
Autumichie Forbes-Jones, 36, is charged with attempted murder, assault and weapons violations in connection to the shooting on March 27. Around midnight, Baltimore Police were called to a home on the 3500 block of Old York Road, where they found the victim.
During the proceeding, the prosecutor offered Forbes-Jones a plea agreement for attempted murder, 60 years, suspend all but 25, for possession of a firearm in a crime of violence five years, served concurrently, the first five years without parole and five years supervised parole.
On behalf of her client, Michelle Murphy declined the offer and opted for a jury trial. However, she pleaded for more time to prepare because of the “voluminous discovery” in the case as well as the availability of an expert defense witness.
“[Forbes-Jones] is facing life in prison…So we should make sure that all the ‘T’s ‘are crossed and the ‘I’s’ are dotted,” said Murphy.
Judge Copeland countered that since the defendant was indicted in April that shouldn’t hinder you from preparing for the case.
During their investigation, police spoke with a witness who said he was on a FaceTime call with the victim just before the shooting. Prior to the shooting, the victim told the witness that the defendant was upset over text messages she found on his phone and that she said she was going to shoot him.
After a discussion among the parties about scheduling the trial, Judge Copeland set the proceeding for Nov. 12. That’s within the 180 mandatory deadline under Maryland’s Hicks rule for a speedy trial.
