Man charged with killing teen in Baltimore declines jury in 3rd trial

BALTIMORE (AP) — A judge will decide the fate of a man charged with killing a North Carolina teenager in Baltimore, in the third trial in the case.

The Baltimore Sun reports 34-year-old Michael Maurice Johnson has waived his right to a jury trial on second-degree murder charges in the 2010 death of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes of Monroe, North Carolina. Her body was found in the Susquehanna River months after she disappeared while vising family in Baltimore.

A jury convicted Johnson of second-degree murder in 2013, but he was granted a new trial after a judge ruled prosecutors withheld evidence. Johnson has been free since 2015, when the judge presiding over the second trial declared a mistrial.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Johnson’s case last year.

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com

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