ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The man charged with killing five people at a Maryland newspaper office will get more time to consider an insanity plea, and his trial date has also been pushed back.
Lawyers for Jarrod Ramos asked for more time to consider changing his plea to not criminally responsible, because they have received additional case materials from prosecutors.
The lawyers argued that a “jaw-dropping” amount of evidence hadn’t been provided to them until Feb. 11. They suggested the previous state’s attorney’s office, led by Wes Adams, withheld evidence and documents for several months.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken didn’t agree, though, siding with prosecutors’ argument that the amount and value of those documents was being overstated, and that state’s attorney Anne Colt Leitess was being accommodating.
Defense lawyers had hoped to have until May 17 to change their plea from not guilty to not criminally responsible because of insanity. Prosecutors wanted to give the defense until April 19. In the end, the judge ruled a decision has to be made by April 29.
The trial has also been pushed back from June to Nov. 4.
Ramos’ lawyers have been working with a mental health professional who has been evaluating and analyzing evidence already.
Ramos pleaded not guilty last year to murder in the June attack at the Capital Gazette newsroom.
WTOP’s John Domen reported from Annapolis. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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