Charges dropped in 2016 Aberdeen double homicide

All charges against Terrell Walton, one of two men accused of committing a double homicide in Aberdeen in June 2016, have been dropped, but police and prosecutors say they have not ended their pursuit of justice for the victims and their loved ones.

"We're still working it as an open and active investigation," Lt. Will Reiber, a spokesperson for the Aberdeen Police Department, said Wednesday.

Twenty-three charges filed against Walton, 31, of Aberdeen, were dropped Aug. 15, according to online court records. He had not been to trial.

He was charged with the shooting deaths of Jumal Rodale Dudley, 43, of Havre de Grace, and Taneisha Chenay Smothers, 31, of Aberdeen.

Prosecutors were concerned they could not secure a conviction for murder against Walton after his co-defendant — who faced the same charges based on the same evidence — was only convicted of second-degree assault in a trial earlier this year.

"By dismissing it prior to trial, we keep it an open case and keep it an open investigation despite the indictment being dismissed," Senior Assistant State's Attorney David Ryden said Wednesday.

He declined to comment on whether Walton would be charged again, or if someone else would be charged. Walton would not face double jeopardy if charged again, since he had not been tried and acquitted, according to Ryden.

Walton's attorney, Catherine Flynn, of Baltimore, said her client had pled not guilty. They were prepared to go to trial, and a jury had been selected on Aug. 14.

"We maintain his innocence and maintain his not guilty proffer, which was why we were prepared to proceed to trial," Flynn said Thursday.

Prosecutors informed her the next morning that they were dropping the charges after determining that there would be issues with their case against Walton.

"I was pleased with the result, for Mr. Walton's sake," Flynn said. "I think they did the right thing under the circumstances."

She said the state did not have the evidence to move forward, "so they did what is appropriate in that situation and opted not to proceed."

Walton's co-defendant, Ronald Comer Jr., 31, of Aberdeen, was convicted of two counts of second-degree assault. Comer had a jury trial in Harford County Circuit Court in early May, according to Ryden.

Comer was sentenced in July to 20 years in state prison, or 10 years per count. He faced 23 counts total, including first and second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and firearms violations, but he was either found not guilty on the remaining 21 counts, or charges were dropped, according to court records.

Ryden said prosecutors suspect the jury did not find the testimony of the state's key witness credible enough for a murder conviction.

"Based on the verdict, and based on the counts that they did come back on with guilt, it's clear to me that they didn't find him credible," Ryden said.

The victims were found shot outside an apartment in a complex in the unit block of East Bel Air Avenue around 3:15 a.m. on June 13, 2016.

Smothers, who lived in the unit block of Osborne Road, was pronounced dead at the scene. Dudley was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was pronounced dead, police reported at the time.

Walton, whom police and prosecutors had said they suspected was the shooter, was arrested two days after the victims were found. Comer was arrested the same day.

Walton was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, four counts of using a firearm to commit a felony violent crime, possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm with a prior felony conviction and illegal possession of a firearm, according to court records.

Police and prosecutors believe Comer held Dudley down before he was shot, but he did not touch Smothers, according to Ryden. He said it made sense, based on the state's theory, that the jury convicted him of assaulting Dudley, but it was "unusual" Comer was convicted of assaulting Smothers, too, since there was no evidence he touched her.

The state's key witness was the tenant of the apartment building in front of where police found the victims, Ryden said. The victims had been visiting the tenant, he said.

"My understanding is that they were romantically involved," Ryden said of Smothers and Dudley.

He said the state does not have any evidence of a motive for their deaths, though.

Ryden said Walton faced the same charges as Comer, and the state would have presented the same evidence, facts and the "exact same theory" at Walton's trial.

"The jury did not find our chief and only eyewitness' testimony to be very credible, and without any additional evidence, we considered at that point there was no reasonable likelihood of getting a first-degree murder conviction against Walton," he said.

"We aren't going to rest until justice has been served in this case," Reiber, of the Aberdeen Police, said.

Police and prosecutors are encouraging anyone who has more information that could lead to physical evidence — such as the gun used in the killings — or to more witnesses who could testify in court, to contact police.

"We would encourage anyone to come forward and right a wrong that's been committed in the Aberdeen community," Ryden said.

Walton remains in jail at the Harford County Detention Center, according to Flynn, his attorney. He is charged in another case with possession of drugs with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.

Flynn said the marijuana had been found as police investigated the murder case against Walton. She said he has not made bond yet in the drug case, and she declined to comment on that case as it is a pending matter.