A judge on Friday said the trial of three men accused of murdering two people in White Oak will remain scheduled for September, despite requests for a delay or separate trials.
“It’s a little complicated because the three cases are joined for trial,” Circuit Court Judge Harry Storm said. “Right now, I’m inclined not to grant the continuance.”
Dontaye Jamahl Hunt, 19, and Noah Foster Barnett, 19, both from Silver Spring, and Andy Panton, 20, of Beltsville, are charged with murdering Jordan Alexander Radway and Christian Deon Roberts in a Jan. 28 shooting.
Montgomery County police linked the deaths of Radway and Roberts to a drug deal between Hunt and Barnett before identifying Panton as an additional suspect and arresting him two weeks later.
Hunt met with Radway and Roberts near the White Oak Shopping Center on Jan. 28, police said. Witnesses heard gunshots and saw a vehicle fleeing the scene, while another vehicle with Radway and Roberts crashed into parked cars.
Hunt told investigators he was seated in the vehicle where the two victims were shot, but another person was involved in the shooting, according to charging documents. Panton was identified through video from a Metrobus, social media accounts and a confidential source as the person with Hunt the evening of the shooting.
County major crimes detectives found Barnett had contacted Radway to set up a drug deal, police said. He was initially charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, but state prosecutors dropped that charge in March and indicted him on murder charges with the two other men in April.
The three defendants appeared one by one in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Friday for a pretrial hearing, beginning with Panton. Defense attorney Michael Lawlor, representing Panton, requested a continuance in the case, given that he had just taken over for the public defender’s office on Monday.
The trial is currently set for Sept. 23.
“I can’t ethically or reasonably represent Mr. Panton with that scheduling,” Lawlor said.
He was asked to take on the case after the public defender’s office reported a conflict, though it didn’t divulge the nature of the issue. Lawlor said he would have to return the case to the public defender’s office if the continuance weren’t granted.
“You won’t find an attorney who will be ready in the next two months,” Lawlor said.
Defense attorney Howard Cheris, representing Hunt, then stepped in to suggest moving the pretrial hearing to next week, allowing all parties to discuss a course of action.
Storm granted the postponement, and the continuance will be reconsidered on Aug. 2.
Cheris then took his turn, with Hunt entering the courtroom after Panton. He announced the filing of a motion to sever, which would separate Hunt’s case into a separate trial from Panton’s and Barnett’s.
Storm said the motion would be addressed at the new hearing date next week, but added that he is unlikely to reconsider the decision to try the defendants in a single trial.
“We’re likely going to be dealing with all three,” Storm said.
Defense attorney Maura Lynch, representing Barnett, closed the proceedings by adding only that her client wants to maintain the September trial date and proceed with the case on time.
Barnett, Hunt and Panton remain held without bond in a county detention center.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
