Counselors want charges dismissed

Carroll County, Md. (Map, News) - Reckless endangerment charges should be dropped against six Bowling Brook Preparatory counselors in connection with the death last year of a teen at the juvenile facility, defense attorneys argued in a motion filed in Carroll County Circuit Court.

A motion to dismiss the case, along with several others to suppress evidence, could be ruled on by today or Friday.

Isaiah Simmons III stopped breathing and died Jan. 23 after counselors at the Keymar school allegedly held him down for three hours after an outburst and waited nearly 41 minutes to call 911, prosecutors said.

A grand jury indicted the six counselors on misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges in April instead of the felony manslaughter charges that Simmons’ family was pushing for.

Because the grand jury did not indict the counselors on manslaughter, they must not have seen enough evidence of “grossly negligent conduct” leading to Simmons’ death, Scott Rolle, attorney for counselor Shadi Sabbagh, argued in a motion to dismiss.

Rolle and the five other attorneys also say the indictment is too vague to argue against, and that the accusations against the counselors were blurred so that legal actions could be manipulated into illegal ones, according to the motion.

The counselors “did fail to contact emergency services (9-1-1) in a timely manner that created a substantial risk of death and serious physical injury,” according to the charges in the indictment.

Among the six other motions filed by both sides, defense attorneys say any testimony about the alleged three hours of restraint should not be admitted because the grand jury did not indict the counselors on manslaughter charges.

The state countered that allowing the testimony provides essential context for what happened that day because it happened just before the alleged offenses, according to the court records filed by Allan Culver, senior assistant state’s attorney.

In addition, a judge will decide whether Simmons’ criminal record can be brought into the case. Prosecutors filed a motion arguing that his 2006 conviction for armed robbery, which prompted the Department of Juvenile Services to place him in Bowling Brook, would mislead the jury and should be excluded.

The six counselors are to be tried in groups of three in March in Carroll County Circuit Court.

BOWLING BROOK MOTIONS

Defense

» Dismiss

» Exclude restraint evidence

» Exclude other defendants' testimony

» Exclude testimony from a nurse

» Allow jury to travel to Bowling Brook

State

» Exclude Simmons' criminal record

» Exclude grand jury proceedings

msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com

Advertisement