Photo ID Stays as Evidence in Marriottsville Attempted Murder Trial

A photo array of possible suspects used by prosecutors in the case against one of three people charged in the abduction and wounding of a 15-year-old in Marriottsville can be used as evidence in court, according to a spokesman for the Howard County Circuit Court. 

Donald George Peoples, Jr., 21, of Nottingham, is facing a host of charges including attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping as a result of his alleged role in the abduction of a 15-year-old who was also shot. The trial for Peoples is scheduled to begin June 24. 

Police said Peoples, acting with Laura Christian Karr, 25, of Reisterstown and 21-year-old Chiquita Sketers of Randallstown, kidnapped the 15-year-old as he was walking home from a friend’s house in Reisterstown on June 19. 

Peoples, Karr and Sketers drove the victim to a field off of Old Frederick Road in Marriottsville, according to police, and at gunpoint, forced him out of the car. Police say that as the teenager walked away from the car, he was shot in the back of the head. 

A resident found the victim in a field.

According to court records, the victim identified Peoples in a photo array as the person who had shot him in the head. 

In court Thursday, Peoples’ attorney Sam Truette argued that police made “procedural errors” and did not give proper instructions when they presented the victim and his friend with photo arrays of possible suspects, according to Howard County State’s Attorney spokesman Wayne Kirwan.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Furlong argued, however, that the police’s actions regarding the photo array were “textbook photo procedure,” according to Kirwan.   

Judge William V. Tucker dismissed Truette’s motion to have the photo array identifications suppressed from evidence. Truette said "I do not find any police misconduct," according to Kirwan.

Related:

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- 3 Face Attempted Murder in Marriottsville Shooting

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