Wearing a green and white prison jumpsuit and sporting a long, scraggly beard tied in a ponytail, the man charged with gunning down five people inside the Capital Gazette newsroom last June was back before an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge Thursday.
Jarrod Ramos was attentive and appeared engaged as he listened to his public defenders ask for more detailed evidence in some filings provided by prosecutors so far.
These are filings separate from the evidence discovery process, and prosecutors said under state law, they’ve provided exactly what’s needed.
But, during the course of the more than two-hour hearing, Ramos’ defenders also seemed to offer up a hint of how they might defend the case should Ramos forego a plea of not criminally responsible by mental illness.
In speaking about the five charges of first-degree murder, Ramos’ attorney William Davis told a judge that prosecutors haven’t yet provided the evidence that shows Ramos targeted and planned to kill the five specific victims who died in the shooting.
Likewise, defense lawyers prodded for more specificity in some documents surrounding the charges of attempted first-degree murder and assault.
Prosecutors argued the information provided in the filings being questioned by the defense were more than suitable, and that the other details being requested are provided in the evidence discovery process as required.
Judge Laura Ripken said she’d decide if that was the case on March 11 — four days before Ramos has to decide if he’ll plead not criminally responsible because of mental illness.
The case is scheduled to go to trial in June.
WTOP’s John Domen reported from Annapolis, Maryland.
