November 20, 2004|By Andrea F. Siegel | Andrea F. Siegel,SUN STAFF
A judge yesterday slashed the bail of two suspects accused of killing a Pasadena teenager in a July melee, enabling one to be freed last night.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Joseph P. Manck reduced bail from $2.5 million to $75,000 for David Michael George, 20, of Glen Burnie. That is the same amount a District Court judge set earlier in the week for four others charged in the death of Noah Jamahl Jones. They, too, originally had been held on $2.5 million bail each. All six are charged with manslaughter.
Jail officials said George was being released last night.
Only the youngest of the suspects failed to win a $75,000 bail. After hearing of the suspect's juvenile record, Manck set bail at $250,000 for Richard Elbert McLeod, 18, of Chestertown, despite a request for house arrest by his lawyer.
"It's a far cry from $2.5 million. But it's a far cry from house arrest," said Renee C. Swafford, lawyer for Robin Jones, the dead youth's mother. Robin Jones did not attend the hearing.
Jamahl Jones, 17, would have been a senior this year at Northeast High School.
Deputy State's Attorney William D. Roessler contended that McLeod's juvenile record showed an escalation in the severity of charges.
Assistant Public Defender Karl Gordon told the judge that "$75,000 bond is the same as no bond for his family."
Jones died of head injuries outside a home in Pasadena's Green Haven area, in a brawl some alleged was racially motivated. Jones, who was black, and at least two African-American friends arrived uninvited at the house. Police said the group believed a friend there needed help.
Defense lawyers for several of the accused said Jones' friends arrived armed with a handgun, Taser and hammer.
Four others charged in the case, Joshua David Bradley, 20; Scott E. Burton Jr., 19; Gregory M. Florentino, 21; and Jacob Tyler Fortney, 19; all of Pasadena, have been released on bail.
Sun staff writer Sarah Schaffer contributed to this article.
