Mar 13, 2008 5:24 pm US/Eastern
Charges Stand Against Teens Accused In Bus Beating
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
There's a major development in the case of five teenagers accused of a vicious assault on an MTA bus in Baltimore City. The judge dropped some of the charges against them.
Mike Hellgren reports the teens all still face a felony charge for assaulting passenger Sarah Kreager that could land them in detention until they're 21, but most were cleared of attacking the bus driver.
The cases against five teens accused of a brutal assault on an MTA bus in Hampden last December will go on although the judge decided to drop some of the charges against them.
He dropped charges against four of the teens for assaulting the bus driver.
This comes after that driver, Danny Williams, testified earlier this week. One teen is still accused of assaulting him.
"He testified he was kicked, punched, all of these things, but that's a completely different thing than what he told police the day after this incident," said defense attorney Donald Wright.
The judge also dropped charges against one of the teens for assaulting passenger Troy Ennis. The rest are still charged in his attack.
"I expected all the charges that I asked to be dismissed to be dropped, but I think based on the evidence, those were the weakest charges," said defense attorney Garland Sanderson.
All of the teens' charges stand for assaulting passenger Sarah Kreager, disturbing the peace and destruction of property.
Kreager says one of the teens picked a fight with her over a seat that escalated after she left the bus. She said they kicked and punched her on the street causing her to nearly lose her vision.
Defense attorneys have questioned whether police identified the right teens.
"It just supports our theory that this is a rush to judgment against the kids that they happened to round up at the scene," said Wright.
The principal at Robert Poole Middle School where the teens attended classes took the stand for the defense.
"This witness, the principal, testified he has a roster of everyone who rides the bus. The police didn't even ask for that," said Wright. "The MTA police, the Baltimore police did a horrible job investigating this case. They didn't go and speak even to the principal of Robert Poole Middle School. They didn't ask who was on the bus."
The defense will call more witnesses Monday, possibly including Kreager. She's already testified for the prosecution.
Police are not commenting on their investigation of the case while the trial is underway.
Nine teens were initially charged in the case in addition to the five on trial now. Cases against three more have been delayed. One plead the juvenile court's equivalent to guilty.
The case is expected to wrap up next week. There is no jury. The judge will decide guilt or innocence.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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