Vehicular Manslaughter Defendant Rejects 2nd Plea, Set for Trial in May

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One of two co-defendants charged in the vehicular manslaughter of 30-year-old Keyona Thomas will go to trial this May after rejecting a five-year plea offer on March 21.

Baltimore resident Brian Scott, 33, rejected the state’s plea of 10 years, suspending all but five years, and three years of supervised probation for vehicular manslaughter—similar to a plea he declined in November 2021—during Monday’s reception court proceedings in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Judge Melissa M. Phinn scheduled Scott’s three-day trial for May 18 before Judge Jeffrey M. Geller.

Scott’s co-defendant, Brandon Gross, previously accepted the prosecution’s plea of three years, suspending all but time served, with two years supervised probation for criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter at the end of last year.

The Baltimore Sun reported that three drivers were speeding down Wabash Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2020, when one lost control and led to the crash. Thomas, who was a passenger in Scott’s vehicle, died at a hospital.