Judge Althea Handy Archives - Baltimore Witness

Suspect in Self-Shooting Scheduled For Trial

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland scheduled a May 19 jury trial for defendant James Richardson, 54, on Feb. 28. Richardson is charged with possession of a firearm... Read More

Firearms and Cellphone Evidence Linked to Appleton Street Murder Suspect

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy presided over the third day of a jury trial for 29-year old defendant Kemonta Johnson. Johnson is accused of the murder of... Read More

Prosecution Presents Aerial, Body-Worn Camera Footage in Appleton Street Murder Trial

Details “I’ve been dealing this sh*t for two years because of a crime I didn’t even commit!” said 29-year-old defendant Kemonta Johnson to the court on the first day of his... Read More

Attempted Murder Suspect Rejects Plea Deal

Details In a March 14 hearing before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland,an attempted murder suspect turned down a plea offer in reception court. Gregory Barnes, 48, is accused... Read More

E. Chase Street Shooter Gets November Retrial After Mistrial in 2017 Murder Case

Details After his recent mistrial, homicide defendant Matthew Lipscomb received a November retrial date on July 27 during Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn’s reception court. The now-29-year-old defendant’s four-day... Read More

Defense Counsel’s Unavailability Delays Bowley’s Lane Attempted Murder Trial By Three Months

Details An attempted homicide defendant’s trial was postponed more than three months after his defense attorney had a personal emergency. On July 11, Desmond Powell was set to begin his jury trial before... Read More

Baltimore Man Takes Five-Year Plea for East 20th Street Shooting in 2022

Details A 38-year-old man accused of an attempted murder last year told Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea Handy that his actions were the result of him trying to protect his... Read More

Judge Postpones E. 20th Street Attempted Murder Defendant’s Jury Trial

Details On March 29, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn granted defense counsel Andrea Jaskulsky’s trial postponement request due to needing more time to review evidence. Jaskulsky informed the court on Wednesday... Read More

Woman Accused of Murdering Her Baby Has Her Trial Postponed

Details The jury trial for a 26-year-old mother charged with the murder of her baby was postponed on March 15, due to new defense counsel having recently been assigned to the... Read More

Drunken Shooter Rejects Five-Year Plea, Will Proceed to Trial

Details A non-fatal shooting defendant rejected five years without parole on March 9 and will proceed with a jury trial in mid-May. After being released on home detention in December 2022,... Read More

Trial Postponed for Defendant in 2021 Laurens Street Homicide Case

Details A Baltimore man charged in the December 2021 fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man had his trial postponed on Feb. 23 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn. The... Read More

Judge Schedules Trial for Attempted Murder Defendant in N. Rose Street Shooting

Details A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge scheduled a trial on Feb. 15 after a defendant rejected a plea offer for 15 years for attempted murder. On Wednesday, Nicole Jackson rejected... Read More

Jury Returns Not Guilty Verdict in Attempted Murder Case, Defense Argues Lack of Evidence

Details Defense counsel in the trial of attempted homicide defendant Courtney Sykes compared the length of the prosecution’s case to that of this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, telling the jurors on Feb.... Read More

Victim Reported Shooting Weeks After Incident, Defense Says in Cliftview Avenue Non-Fatal Shooting Case

Details A Baltimore City prosecutor argued that the victim specifically identified 30-year-old Courtney Sykes as the woman who attempted to shoot her in May 2022. Sykes is currently facing multiple attempted murder, assault,... Read More

Judge Schedules Trial for Defendant Charged with 2022 Non-Fatal Shooting

Details On Feb. 2, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn scheduled a Baltimore man charged with attempted murder for trial following his decision to reject the plea offered to him.... Read More

Saint Georges Lane Homicide Defendant’s Trial Scheduled for June

Details On Jan. 10, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn scheduled a trial for the defendant accused of killing 29-year-old Andrew Smith, a little more than a year after... Read More

Defense Suggests Another Suspect in Murder of Homicide Defendant’s Sister

Details Defense counsel for 45-year-old homicide defendant Cornelius Hayes directed the jury’s attention to a different suspect in the killing of Lezatte Jackson during her opening statements. On Jan. 4, the defendant’s jury... Read More

Murder Defendant has Trial Set for Top of the New Year

Details A Baltimore man charged with murder had his trial postponed before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn on Dec. 12. Defendant Cornelius Hayes is charged with first-degree murder,... Read More

Counsel Reassess Plea of Woman Charged in Son’s Murder

Details Counsel is currently reassessing the plea offer for a woman charged with her son’s death in July 2019. Shateka Lawson, 43, and her partner, 28-year-old Alicia Lawson, are accused of... Read More

Baltimore Man Heads to Trial after Rejecting Plea Deal

Details A Baltimore man charged with homicide rejected a plea offered by the prosecution on Sept. 9 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn. Jaquan Burks, represented by defense attorney... Read More

Homicide Defendant Trial Scheduled for February 2023

Details On July 12, a Baltimore man charged with first-degree murder was scheduled for trial for February of 2023 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn. Devin Davis, 34,... Read More

Man Convicted of Wife’s Murder Granted Motion to Modify Sentence Nearly 12 Years Later

Details A Baltimore man convicted of killing his wife while in the midst of their divorce was granted a motions hearing to modify a 50-year sentence on Sept. 17 at Baltimore... Read More

Acquitted: Man Accused in 2019 Halloween Shooting of HBO Actor Found Not Guilty

By Connor Driscoll [former] - July 27, 2021
Court | Featured | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

Details Editor’s note: The defendant was acquitted of charges in this case. After deliberating for 11 hours over the course of two days, a 12-person jury found Anthony Ward not guilty on... Read More

Acquitted: Victim In 2019 Halloween Shooting Takes Stand on First Day of Trial

Details Editor’s note: The defendant was acquitted of charges in this case. The victim in a 2019 Halloween shooting testified against the defendant on the first day of an attempted murder trial... Read More