PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. – Calvert State Attorney Robert H. Harvey Jr. has denied a request by Michelle A. Harewood, the attorney for defendant Brandon Alexander Turner, to change venues ahead of the upcoming trial.
Turner, 21, is facing charges that include three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder, and three counts of first-degree assault involving a firearm.
These charges stem from a widely covered December 17th incident where Turner shot and wounded Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Deputy James Flynt and two other officers after a high-speed chase in Huntingtown, Maryland.
Harewood requested that the venue should be changed because she had doubts that a jury assembled in Calvert County would not be impartial or fair to her client. She cited the Maryland public’s support for Deputy Flynt as well as disparaging social media comments made against her client, as well as the “#FlyntStrong” tag that briefly trended in Calvert.
Attorney Harvey denied the request on the basis that he did not believe Harewood had adequately proven that a Calvert jury would be biased against her client.
“There is pretrial publicity for every criminal case,” said Harvey. “Facebook and Twitter can be followed by anybody in the U.S. There aren’t a lot of locations in Maryland where residents aren’t aware of the case.”
Turner will undergo a mental health evaluation on Friday, July 7th. Currently, his trial is expected to take place on July 10th.
We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
Why should “a jury be impartial & fair to her client”? Let the facts come out and deal with him appropriately.
So true!
He should have changed venues BEFORE he ‘thugged’ out and started acting like God knows what.
He wants to move the trial to a blue county where they’ll just let him walk
Who is this “he/him” everyone is commenting on?
He should have thought about all this BEFORE he stole the gun, did the fleeing, shot with intent etc.
Isn’t the justice system intended to keep LAW ABIDING citizens safe from POSs like this?
I doubt he’ll get much time being in this state but he should be given the time he tried to take from the officers life! An eye for an eye…Even if it’s just a try!
Maryland Should bring back the DEATH PENALTY !!! HERE’S A PERFECT CANIDATE!!!!!!