Judge Paul E. Alpert Archives - Baltimore Witness

Defendant Found Not Guilty in McCulloh Street Murder

Details Maurice Jones, 29, was found not guilty of the murder of 23-year-old Montez Barrett on July 11. After final testimonies and closing arguments were delivered on Friday, the jury deliberated... Read More

Police Testify They Linked The Driver of a Car to a Homicide

Details Final witnesses were called to testify on July 10 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Alpert in a trial connected to a West Baltimore homicide. The defendant Maurice... Read More

Defense Advises Jurors to Keep Open Minds During Opening Statements

By Jasmine Milbourne [former] - July 8, 2025
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting |

Details As counsel delivered opening statements in Maurice Jones’ murder trial, defense attorney James Sweeting instructed jurors to evaluate evidence and witness testimonies with open minds. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge... Read More

Contradictory Testimony About ‘Man-Man’ Complicates Homicide Trial

By Ethan Russo [former] - July 7, 2025
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting |

Details Attorneys delivered closing arguments before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Alpert in the case of 29-year-old Maurice Jones, who is charged with committing a homicide on the 1200... Read More

Judge Denies New Lawyer For Homicide Defendant

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Alpert denied Dandre Woods-Bethel’s request for a new lawyer after he complained his current lawyer’s efforts were “ineffective” the last day of trial... Read More

Trial Testimony Describes 2020 Double Murder

Details On June 6, witnesses to a shooting that left two dead delivered dramatic testimonies on the second day of Dandre Woods-Bethel’s murder trial. Woods-Bethel, 29, is charged with two counts... Read More

Double Murder Suspect Opts for Bench Trial

Details Members of victims’ families gathered in Baltimore City Circuit Court on June 6 for the double murder trial of defendant Dandre Woods-Bethel, 29. Woods-Bethel and his attorney, Maureen O’Leary, opted... Read More

Greenmount Avenue Murder Suspect Goes to Trial

Details Nasya Duvall, 25, rejected a plea offer before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on May 9, opting instead for an August jury trial. The terms of the... Read More

Attempted Murder Defendant Allows Defense Counsel to Stay on Case

Details A Baltimore man accused of shooting and robbing a man at the No. 1 Chinese Carry Out restaurant in Penn North is set to stand trial for five days, beginning... Read More

‘It Wasn’t Supposed to Go Down The Way It Did,’ Says Murder Defendant at Sentencing

Details Family members of a murder victim expressed their pain and anger in a sentencing hearing before Judge Paul E. Alpert of the Baltimore City Circuit Court on Dec. 2. Michael... Read More

Defendant Accused of Fatal Stabbing Pleads Guilty First Day of Trial

Details Before the jury entered the courtroom for trial on Nov. 13, defendant Michael Atkinson opted to plead guilty to stabbing 53-year-old Michael Raub to death over money on the Fourth... Read More

Family Member Describes ‘Void’ After Murder

Details At a sentencing hearing Nov. 7, a family member spoke about the emptiness she experienced after losing her cousin to violence. Ky’Mon Young, 18, was found guilty in May of... Read More

Attempted Murder Defendant’s Threat to Throw Feces Postpones Trial

By Ashley Luther [former] - October 25, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting |

Details Staffers for Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays told Baltimore Witness on Oct. 25 that an attempted murder defendant threatened to throw his own excrement at people in... Read More

Trial Postponed After Attempted Murder Defendant Takes Drugs in Jail

Details A 23-year-old attempted murder defendant could not be transported to his Aug. 7 trial because he took drugs before the proceeding. Jesse Freels is charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted... Read More

Retrial for Toddler’s Murder Ends in Plea Deal

Details A 41-year-old homicide defendant’s retrial ended when he agreed to plead guilty to murdering his girlfriend’s 17-month-old child before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Alpert on Aug. 1.... Read More

Jury Finds Man Guilty of 2023 Hollins Street Murder

By Alexander Taylor [former] - July 17, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

Details A Baltimore City Circuit Court jury found a 40-year-old man committed the May 6, 2023, murder of Nathaniel Mack on the 2100 block of Hollins Street. On July 15, the... Read More

‘The Wrong Person Is Sitting in That Chair,’ Defense Attorney Tells Jury

Details On July 10, counsel delivered opening statements to begin a murder trial involving the death of a 40-year old man in southwest Baltimore. Steven Gibson, 40, is charged with first-degree... Read More

Despite Denying He Fired Gun, Man Pleads Guilty to Assault and Possession

Details A 35-year-old Baltimore man pleaded guilty to assault and weapons charges on May 28 in connection to a shooting in West Baltimore in 2022. Initially scheduled for a jury trial,... Read More

Garrison Boulevard Murder Defendant Rejects Plea Offer

Details A 39-year-old man rejected a plea offer of 50 years incarceration in Baltimore City Circuit Court May 24. Brandon Fullard is charged with second-degree murder, firearm use in a felony... Read More

Gun Evidence Clears Homicide Defendant of Murder But Not Weapons Charges

Details A Baltimore man has been cleared of murder charges for the killing of 27-year-old Jeremy Maldonado last June after the investigation revealed the alleged murder weapon did not match the... Read More

Man Accused of Botched Robbery, Shooting Pleads Guilty, Down from Attempted Murder

Details A 28-year-old attempted homicide defendant was sentenced to four years in prison for assault and a weapons charge on Dec. 4 after shooting a man on Hollins Street during a... Read More

‘You Took Him Away During a Holiday,’ Victim’s Sister Says in Homicide Sentencing

Details The courtroom was crowded with family and friends of Dominique Edmonds as he appeared before Judge Paul E. Alpert in a homicide case on Nov. 6. However, the victim’s sister... Read More

Defendant in West Fayette Street Murder Receives Life Sentence

Details On Oct. 20, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Alpert sentenced a defendant to life in prison in connection to the murder of 33-year-old Jameo McClean in 2021. Jerome Jermey... Read More

Joint Retrial Scheduled Again for 18-Year-Old Defendants

Details On Sept. 19, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn scheduled another retrial for two 18-year-old defendants charged with the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Clark Hohrein in 2021. William Holloman... Read More