|
Washington Post Prince George's County, Maryland Seven times, an armed robbery case in Prince George's Circuit Court was delayed at the request of prosecutors because they said a police officer who was a witness was recovering from a car accident. A judge granted the seventh delay in September. Then the officer went to the Cayman Islands for five days. After Prince George's police Capt. Barry Fox went south, so did the armed robbery case. One defendant, Dmitri Negbe, was acquitted by a jury. A judge threw out all charges against the other defendants, Quasya Flumo and Jamal Marcelle, citing the delays. Each of the defendants spent about a year in jail as the case continued. In an interview, Sharon Taylor, a spokeswoman for the police department, said because of Fox's injuries, which included serious burns on his arm and back, he was and still is on "no-duty" status, which means he could not perform any of the tasks of a police officer -- including going to court. The numerous court delays did not affect the outcome of the case, Taylor said. "What occurred in this case was not a matter of our officer not being available," Taylor said. She noted that Fox testified at Negbe's trial. But from the bench Dec. 14, Circuit Court Judge Graydon S. McKee III said that, under Maryland law, the state must bring defendants to trial within six months of the day they are indicted. The rule can be waived by a judge, which Circuit Court Judge Michael Whalen did to allow the state to go to trial against Negbe, McKee said. McKee cited the numerous delays when he threw out the charges against Flumo and Marcelle and wondered whether Whalen had all the information he needed when he waived the rule -- a reference to Fox's sojourn to the Caymans. Whether Fox was on vacation before or after the September trial date was delayed made no difference, McKee said. "It would indicate that there is no good reason for delay, and I find that when Judge Whalen made his decision, he wasn't fully informed of all the facts," McKee said. State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey did not respond to requests for comment. Fox declined to comment Friday. At Negbe's trial, Fox testified that he had multiple surgeries during 32 days in the hospital. Under cross-examination, he also acknowledged his trip to the Caymans in September. Negbe, 19, Flumo, 18, and Marcelle, 27, were accused of trying to rob a man about 10:30 p.m. March 5, 2006, in the 6800 block of New Hampshire Avenue in Hyattsville, according to county police charging documents. The victim told police that he was walking through a parking lot when three men approached him. One of the men pointed a long gun at the victim, and the three assailants demanded money, according to the charging document. While the gunman pointed the weapon at the victim, the other two attackers searched the victim's pockets. The attackers ran when they heard a witness calling police on a cellphone. Police arrived minutes later and stopped three men near the parking lot, according to the charging documents. Fox responded and drove the victim to where the three men were detained, and the victim identified Negbe, Flumo and Marcelle as the attackers, Fox testified at Negbe's trial. But the victim testified that he could not identify Negbe, defense attorney Debra A. Saltz said. Also, the victim disputed the testimony of police officers who said Negbe and the other suspects were standing when he identified them the night of the attempted robbery. The victim said the suspects were lying on the ground, and officers held up their heads, Saltz said. A little more than two months after the attempted robbery, Fox was injured while sitting in his squad car on Route 1 in Beltsville. In the following months, as five pretrial hearings and two trial dates were continued because of Fox's condition, defense attorneys said they unsuccessfully asked judges to compel the state to produce proof of the officer's condition. On Nov. 30, as Negbe's trial was underway, Circuit Court Judge Richard H. Sothoron Jr. had prosecution and defense attorneys question Fox outside the jury's presence. On direct examination from Assistant State's Attorney Joseph C. Ruddy, Fox testified that on the night of May 24, 2006, he was in his squad car on Route 1 in Beltsville when a motorcycle struck the vehicle. His car flipped and caught fire, Fox testified. "I received multiple injuries, third-degree burns to my entire right arm, my shoulder, my back, back of my neck and head. Also neck injuries and back injuries and jaw injuries." Fox said he stayed at Washington Hospital Center for 32 days and underwent multiple surgeries. He said he was taking painkillers, was attending physical therapy and had to wear a pressure garment that covered his arm and torso. Fox said he did not testify in late September because "I still was going through intense therapy, physical therapy." Under cross-examination from Saltz in front of the jury, Fox said he was unable to attend the trial scheduled for September because he had doctor's appointments. "But you did take five days out to go to the Cayman Islands. Is that correct?" "Yes," Fox replied. In an interview, Saltz said she learned of Fox's Cayman vacation by chance, a few weeks after the September trial date was postponed. During a courtroom break in an unrelated case, Whalen -- the judge who made the ruling allowing Negbe to be tried -- mentioned he had another case in which the state had obtained six continuances because an officer was injured, Saltz said. Saltz said she asked Whalen if the officer was Fox, and Whalen said yes. In the unrelated case, Whalen denied a seventh request for a postponement because by then he had learned Fox was on vacation, Saltz said in court during the Negbe trial.
|
