All six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray were released from the Central Booking and Intake Center downtown Friday night after posting bail, court records show.
The four officers facing felony charges posted $350,000 bails; the two facing misdemeanors posted $250,000 bails.
The officers charged in Gray’s death each face multiple charges, with the highest charge being second-degree depraved heart murder, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. All six are charged with second-degree assault, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
The six who have been charged are Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., 45; Officer William G. Porter, 25; Lt. Brian W. Rice, 41; Sgt. Alicia D. White, 30; Officer Edward M. Nero, 29; and Officer Garrett E. Miller, 26.
Defense attorney Warren Brown, who is not involved in the case, said the officers are “entitled to bail based on charges.” But he said, “on all of those charges, Joe, Jean Public is going to be held on no bail.”
When determining bail, Brown said the court has to consider whether defendants will show up for court and whether they are threats to public safety. He said the system would not want to keep the officers in jail and noted that the individuals charged in the riots received high bails given the charges.
“I don’t think the system really wants them [the officers] sitting too long in jail,” Brown said, but he noted “the juxtaposition” between the officers who face charges related in Gray’s death to the individuals charged with destruction of property during the protests being held on 500,000 bail.
According to court records, 18-year-old Allen Bullock was charged rioting, malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct and theft was being held on $500,000 bail. His parents told The Guardian that Bullock turned himself in and identified him at the teen captured in photos smashing the windshield of a police car during Saturday’s protests near Camden Yards.
Bullock remains in jail, records show. His family told The Guardian that they could not afford his not afford bail.
The next steps in the case:
•A city grand jury will consider the charges and decide whether to indict.
•If indicted, the officers would have an arraignment in which they would enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
•If entering a not guilty plea, attorneys for the officers would then likely make motions before a judge, asking, for example, for certain evidence to be excluded or for a change of venue.
•The officers would then have the option of a trial before a judge or jury if they do not wish to seek a plea deal with prosecutors.
via BaltimoreSun
