Additional Hearings Needed In Capital Gazette Shooting Case

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Several hours into the hearing for six motions filed in the Capital Gazette shooting case, Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken had ruled on only one. The prosecution and defense were presenting their case regarding different records they each claim to be entitled to before trial begins.

Ripken advised attorneys to plan for additional hearings to discuss the remaining motions. The trial of Jarrod Ramos accused of fatally shooting Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters is slated to begin Nov. 4.

The Capital Gazette reported that Ripken granted parts of, but denied most of, the motion filed by the public defenders representing Ramos who faces five counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, six counts of first-degree assault and a host of other charges. The 39-year-old pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible, Maryland’s insanity defense, to all 23 counts.

In court this morning, Katy O’Donnell, one of the defense attorneys, asked the judge to force prosecutors to give them information or documents she argued would support their insanity defense, including police files dating to 2013 and various records detailing what she described as
Ramos’ “vendetta” against the Annapolis newspaper, the Capital Gazette reported.

Specifically, Ramos' team seeks archives of his Twitter account dating as far back as 2011. O’Donnell argued that his tweets contained “bizarre” statements that could legally exculpate him from the June 28 attack.

“I’ve never seen such documented (mental health) deterioration,” she told Ripken.

Anne Colt Leitess, Anne Arundel County state’s attorney, protested and argued the tweets are "hardly relevant" and that if the defense wants them, they could subpoena Twitter, the Capital Gazette reported.

This hearing was originally planned for June 25, but Ripken delayed the hearing because one of Ramos' public defenders had experienced a death in the family. Ripken did grant the defense's motion to bifurcate the November trial though, which means it will be split into two proceedings; first, to determine whether Ramos is guilty and second, to determine if he was legally responsible for his action.

On July 3, the defense asked the court to issue subpoenas ordering four people to produce records they say will support their insanity defense, the Capital Gazette reported. They are Rick Hutzell, editor of The Capital; Robert Douglas, an attorney who represented the paper when Ramos sued claiming defamation; Brennan McCarthy, an attorney who represented a woman Ramos was found guilty of harassing; and McCarthy’s sister Kathleen Kirchner.