Prosecutors move to revoke bail in shooting death
City prosecutors filed a motion Thursday to revoke bail for a man accused of murder. Phillip Stanley West of Rosemont was released on bail this week by Baltimore District Judge Michael Studdard after being charged with shooting a man to death in a Fells Point bar.
The judge’s decision to grant bail drew widespread criticism from politicians and city leaders.
Gov. Larry Hogan called it “outrageous,” saying at an Annapolis news conference Thursday: “If somebody is charged with a crime like that, it seems like they shouldn’t be back on the streets.”
Mike Mancuso, president of Baltimore’s police union, decried the “abhorrent” decision in a letter to The Baltimore Sun, saying that “the silent majority” of citizens would demand accountability. Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle called the judge’s decision “unfortunate,” while City Councilman Zeke Cohen, who represents Fells Point, labeled it “reckless” and said that it undermines other public safety efforts.
Police said West killed Rodney Beamon Jr. of Cincinnati on Dec. 21 in the Blarney Stone Pub in the 700 block of S. Broadway. West surrendered to police and poses no risk of fleeing, said Kenneth Ravenell, his defense attorney.
But in the motion, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosbyandassistant state’s attorney Traci Robinson wrote that West is a flight risk because he faces a life sentence for first-degree murder. After West allegedly shot Beamon, a witness heard West utter that “he would not be disrespected.” Furthermore, the motion said, West owned a handgun even though he was prohibited from doing so because of a previous drug conviction.
West was initially jailed without bail. During a hearing Tuesday, Studdard set his bail at $100,000. West posted the bail, and he has been released with an electronic monitoring bracelet to await his trial. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb14.
Judges typically deny bail in murder cases.
But, Ravenell said Wednesday, “Mr. West is not the first person who has been charged with murder released on bail.”
Last year, a judge set bail — $75,000 and $150,000 — for two Baltimore County brothers charged with first-degree murder in a double homicide in Towson.