The trial of three men accused of murdering two people in White Oak was postponed on Friday from September to January, due to the amount of discovery information and late attorney notice.
Dontaye Jamahl Hunt, 19, and Noah Foster Barnett, 19, both from Silver Spring, and Andy Panton, 20, of Beltsville, are charged with murdering two men in a late January shooting.
County police linked the incident to a drug deal between Hunt, Barnett and the victims. Panton was identified as being with Hunt the night of the shooting.
Circuit Court Judge Harry Storm indicated last week the trial would remain on schedule for Sept. 23, However, a pretrial hearing was delayed until Friday to allow all parties to discuss how to proceed regarding a motion to continue and a motion to sever, or separate the joint trial into separate cases.
Defense attorney Michael Lawlor, representing Panton, filed a motion to continue the case, having only taken over the case for the public defender’s office in the past two weeks.
Attorneys representing Barnett opposed Lawlor’s motion, and an attorney representing Hunt deferred to the court.
State prosecutors did not object to the continuance, citing the large volume of evidentiary files in the case.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Hall said discovery evidence includes one terabyte of digital data and 32,000 pages of social media account posts.
The discovery in this case is “above and beyond” the normal amount, Hall said.
Storm said he was “inclined not to grant the continuance” last week, but recommended postponing the trial after learning of the significant amount of evidence Lawlor is now tasked with reviewing.
The case then went before Judge Sharon Burrell, serving as administrative judge, who found good cause to go beyond the try-by date. She accepted the motion to continue after Storm’s recommendation.
As part of the motion, Panton waived his right to be tried within 180 days of initial court appearance.
The 10-day jury trial is set for Jan. 21, 2020.
Storm denied a motion from Bernard Grimm, representing Hunt, to sever the trial, so the three men will be tried together, barring another motion.
Grimm argued that the forensic evidence in the case suggests Hunt was not the shooter, and trying the men together would suggest otherwise to the jury.
He also mentioned statements potentially made by the codefendants or state witnesses that could incriminate his client possibly causing problems, as Grimm wouldn’t have the opportunity to cross-examine them.
Storm wasn’t satisfied with any of Grimm’s reasons and denied the motion for severance.
Barnett, Hunt and Panton remain held without bond in a county detention center.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
