Acquittal

A Baltimore jury acquitted Kion Marcus Eason yesterday of killing City Cafe owner John P. Darda, but found him guilty of attempted robbery, conspiracy and handgun crimes. If he receives the maximum penalty for those crimes, he could be sentenced to 60 years in prison. Assistant State's Attorney Sheryl A. Atkins said through a spokeswoman that jurors, who were questioned after the verdict, said the state proved its felony murder case against Eason "to the letter of the law," but that they did not convict him because "he did not pull the trigger."

A federal judge yesterday ordered Eric D. Stennett jailed until his trial on drug and weapons charges, saying that the teen-ager who was acquitted last year in the death of a city police officer could pose a significant risk to the community if he were released from jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar said that Stennett's high-profile acquittal in the death of Officer Kevon M. Gavin was not a factor in his decision to deny bail. But that earlier case loomed large yesterday as Stennett's attorneys began outlining a defense that will scrutinize the actions of city officers in bringing the new case.

Concerns about the description of a possible murder weapon by the state's key eyewitness left a Howard County jury with reasonable doubt that a Jessup man was guilty of first-degree murder in a fatal hotel shooting in Columbia. The defendant, Shamal Ira Chapman, 21, was acquitted Thursday evening. Tanette McMillan, 19, testified during Chapman's eight-day trial in Howard County Circuit Court that she saw him draw a black gun that was silver on top during a chaotic birthday party at the Courtyard by Marriott on Stanford Boulevard.

GETTING AWAY with murder isn't just a Baltimore phenomenon. Sometimes people get away with murder in the suburbs, even in places like Howard County, which has some of Maryland's highest housing costs and lowest crime rates. In Howard County, whoever killed Andre Devonne Corinaldi at a Columbia hotel party in January is walking the streets. That's unacceptable. When someone commits homicide, no matter where, it can't be tolerated. Police and prosecutors must do what it takes to find the killer and bring that person to justice.

Federal prosecutors have dropped a 17-count mail and wire fraud indictment against a Middle River real estate appraiser who was scheduled to go on trial next week. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis this month that "it is not in the best interests of justice to continue the prosecution" of Guy Shaneybrook, who was acquitted in a related case by another federal judge last month. Shaneybrook's co-defendants, Angus Finney and Thomas "Tucker" Mayer, each pleaded guilty to a single fraud count in January and testified against him in the earlier trial.

Acquittal of driver who killed officer is a terrible injustice After reading "Jury acquits teen accused in death of police officer" (Jan. 20), I felt like I was kicked in the stomach. How could the jury acquit the gun-toting, bulletproof vest-wearing thug driving the car that killed Officer Kevon M. Gavin? How far apart are we? There must be a pervasive mistrust of the police that we don't all understand. Still, at the very least, Eric D. Stennett should have been convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

OFFICER Kevon M. Gavin was fatally crushed when a Ford Bronco rammed into his patrol car at 104 miles an hour. Was it murder or vehicular manslaughter? Neither, according to a Baltimore City jury, which acquitted an 18-year-old budding career criminal named Eric D. Stennett of all charges stemming from last April's high-speed collision. This verdict has been greeted with shock and disbelief. Even Mr. Stennett's lawyer told the jury his client was not entirely innocent. "I'm not saying this young man should walk out of here," lawyer A. Dwight Pettit said, seeming to argue for conviction on a lesser charge.

Howard County prosecutors dropped all charges against a 21-year-old man accused of murder in the heroin overdose death of a friend yesterday, one month after they failed to persuade a judge and jury to convict another defendant in the same case. The decision not to prosecute the second-degree murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges against Wesley Tyson Hamerly came out of talks that followed the acquittal of Scott Milner Sheldon, 22, on the same charges Sept. 1, prosecutors said.

Howard County prosecutors dropped all charges against a 21-year-old man accused of murder in the heroin overdose death of a friend yesterday, one month after they failed to persuade a judge and jury to convict another defendant in the same case. The decision not to prosecute the second-degree murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges against Wesley Tyson Hamerly came out of talks that followed the acquittal of Scott Milner Sheldon, 22, on the same charges Sept. 1, prosecutors said.

After three days of turbulent deliberations, a jury convicted Alpna Patel of voluntary manslaughter yesterday in the death of her husband, ending a courtroom drama that showcased the couple's arranged marriage and traditional Hindu customs. The jury appeared to be deadlocked - as was the case in her first trial last winter, when all but one person voted for acquittal. But this time the majority wanted to convict Patel, and they finally persuaded a lone holdout that the Canadian dentist probably would be spared prison if found guilty.