Capital Gazette killings trial rescheduled for June
The trial of the man charged with shooting five Capital Gazette staff members to death will be moved to June. Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Laura Ripken set a 9 a.m. June 3 trial date during a hearing Thursday afternoon in Annapolis. The judge cited outstanding motions, preparation for trial and a looming change of the prosecution team. State prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on the postponement. The case will determine whether five Capital Gazette employees — Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters — were killed by Jarrod Ramos, a Laurel man with a documented grudge against The Capital newspaper and former columnist Eric Hartley. Police say Ramos murdered the five on June 28 after shooting through the glass newsroom entrance. He was arrested inside the newspaper’s office at 888 Bestgate Road, just outside Annapolis. Ramos appeared in the courtroom Thursday but did not address the judge, just his attorneys. He was wearing a red jacket and green pants with sandals and socks. His legs were chained together. He had a full beard and long hair. State’s Attorney-elect Anne Colt Leitess said Saturday she plans to take the lead in prosecuting the case once she takes office in January. She defeated current State’s Attorney Wes Adams, the lead prosecutor in the case, on Election Day. Adams, who represented the prosecution during the hearing, declined to comment afterward. County Public Defender Bill Davis, representing Ramos, was also in the courtroom. He declined to comment. Ramos has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and other charges. Ripken recently issued a directive extending the defense’s deadline to change that plea and canceling an October motions hearing. Davis previously filed a motion asking for more time to explore a plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. Ripken extended the deadline again. Ramos can now change his pleas to not criminally responsible as late as Feb. 12.
Air Force pilot from Elkridge dies in Texas crash
An Air Force pilot from Elkridge died Tuesday in a crash in Texas. Capt. John Graziano, 28, with the 87th Flying Training Squadron, was killed about 7:40 p.m. Tuesday when a T-38C Talon jet crashed at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio. Officials are investigating the crash, which injured Capt. Mark S. Palyok, another instructor pilot. The eldest of four, Graziano had attended Our Lady of Perpetual Health for elementary and middle school, graduated from Archbishop Spalding High School in 2008 and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2013, said his father, Tom Graziano. Graziano moved to Laughlin for pilot training in January 2014 and became a first assignment instructor pilot the following year. He had put in more than 1,300 hours in the cockpit of a T-38, and was recognized as a top instructor with an award from the Air Training Command, his father said. About a month ago, he received his next assignment: piloting an F-16 at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. “That was his dream,” Tom Graziano said, “and he was living it.”
Man shot Sunday in Havre de Grace dies of injuries
The Havre de Grace man who was shot Sunday morning in downtown Havre de Grace died Wednesday of his injuries, police said Thursday. Mark Jeffrey Coudon, 61, was found in the 200 block of N. Washington St. around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the Havre de Grace Police Department. He was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment, but died on Wednesday, police said. On Thursday, his body was taken to the medical examiner's office, where Coudon’s death was ruled a homicide, police said. Havre de Grace detectives are actively investigating this homicide. At this time they believe this is an isolated incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Unit at the Havre de Grace Police Department at 410-939-2121.
8 academy midshipmen medically evaluated
Eight U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen were medically evaluated Thursday morning after they reported a chemical odor coming from a classroom in Michelson Hall, academy officials said. The midshipmen smelled the odor inside the building that houses the academy’s chemistry department. Around 9:15 a.m. firefighters responded to the scene. The odor is believed to be left over from a previous day’s chemical experiment, an academy spokeswoman said. Michelson Hall and adjacent Chauvenet Hall were evacuated as a precaution. Those halls — except for the classroom with the odor — were reopened about 11 a.m. The midshipmen were being evaluated as a precaution.
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