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By
Rudy Malcom [former]
- August 13, 2021
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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Victims
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Three co-defendants in a homicide case returned to reception court, one of them for the third time this summer, on Aug. 13.
Nearly one month ago, on July 19, Randallstown resident Martez Frye-Cuff and Baltimore residents Reubin McFadden and Dneah Smith were offered a plea of life, suspending all but 60 years, with five years of supervised probation, for first-degree murder.
All three defendants are also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, firearm use in a violent crime, conspiracy to use a firearm in a violent crime, and having a handgun on his person. The charges stem from an incident on Dec. 3, 2019.
Unlike Frye-Cuff, 22, both McFadden, 21, and Smith, 20, are additionally charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
The plea offers were neither accepted nor rejected on July 19 because of a matter affecting the defendants’ decisions to go to trial. During a previous hearing on June 28, Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. recommended that the prosecution and defense negotiate the need for a witness protection order. Three weeks later, an agreement had not yet been reached.
Defense attorneys Stephanie Salter and Andrea Jaskulsky rejected the offer on Frye-Cuff’s behalf on July 28.
McFadden and Smith are represented by defense attorneys Catherine Flynn and Natalie McKeown Finegar, respectively.
On Friday, the defense team said the order, which the prosecution said had been necessary for the witness’ safety, had been rescinded.
The defense attorneys told Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn that they were still negotiating the offer with the prosecution.
“We need this time to sit down with our clients and show them what the evidence is,” Flynn added, referring to new discovery that the order had been “hiding.”
Judge Phinn scheduled their cases to return to reception court on Sept. 17 to accept an offer or set a trial date.
Additionally, Judge Phinn scheduled Smith to be tried in a sex trafficking case on Sept. 20. The defense team explained that this case is separate from the homicide, though it has the “same witnesses and victims.”