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. 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.