Maryland

Trial to Be Postponed for Capital Gazette Shooter Who Killed 5

After he pleaded guilty but not criminally responsible to the shooting that killed five employees at the Capital Gazette, the trial for Jarrod Ramos has been postponed. Chris Gordon reports.

A trial will be postponed for a man who pleaded guilty to killing five people at the Capital Gazette newspaper's offices in Maryland last year.

Jarrod Ramos pleaded guilty on Monday after previously pleading not guilty and not criminally responsible, in Maryland's version of an insanity defense. A jury still will determine whether he was responsible for his actions because of the insanity his defense claims. 

A judge granted a motion on Wednesday for postponement. The defense said prosecutors were late in providing information on expert witnesses regarding Ramos' mental state.

Jury selection was set to start Wednesday.

In court on Monday, newspaper employees and victims' relatives held hands and wiped away tears.

Capital Gazette employees Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters died after Ramos stormed into their newsroom in Annapolis on June 28, 2018.

Police found Ramos hiding under a desk. Police said he targeted workers — in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in the United States — after they published an article in 2011 about criminal harassment to which he had pleaded guilty. 

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.

Contact Us