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By
Jamiya Austin
, Kristen Wheeler - April 22, 2025
Attempted Murder
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Court
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Daily Stories
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Home Page
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Non-Fatal Shooting
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Suspects
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A plea hearing was cut short April 21 after Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kendra Ausby found attempted murder defendant Armonie Casimir, 23, in need of mental competency evaluation.
Judge Ausby postponed and transferred the case to Judge Melissa K. Copeland for an appearance date in mental health court.
The move came after defense attorney Janet Anderson told Judge Ausby that Casimir is hearing voices and has difficulty responding to simple questions.
According to court medical officers, Casimir’s mental health has not improved despite increasing the dosage of his psychotropic medications.
Casimir is charged with multiple counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder and assault, firearm use in a violent crime, and related firearm violations in connection to an Aug. 11, 2024 shooting that occurred in the 200 block of W. Saratoga Street.
According to charging documents, a CitiWatch camera operator observed Casimir shoot an unnamed Black male victim twice with a black gun that was later identified as a Hi-Point C9 9mm pistol with the serial number #P1345200. Shortly after, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers responded and canvassed the area. In the process, they allegedly observed Casimir crouching between two parked vehicles in a parking lot in the 220 block of N. Liberty Street and arrested him.
Officers searched him and were said to recover a plastic bag with 26 cigarette papers containing a small amount of suspected synthetic cannabis and multi-colored chalk pills suspected to contain methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA.
Casimir reportedly confessed to the crime during a taped interview, detailing his actions and the make of his gun. Officers also learned he had an arrest warrant for a previous aggravated assault incident and was prohibited from owning firearms or ammunition due to previous violations.
A new date has not been set for Casimir’s plea.