District man in jail following shooting in Aspen Hill
He is charged with attempted first-degree murder, nine other counts
A District man charged with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of a man in Aspen Hill during an alleged drug deal Monday evening is being held in jail today on $250,000 bail.
Drug charges are pending against the victim, who was released from a local hospital Wednesday night, sais Officer Melanie Brenner, a Montgomery County Police spokeswoman.
Bernard Franklin Byrd, 22, of the 1300 block of Spring Street in Northwest Washington, D.C., appeared serious and silent on a television screen from jail Wednesday afternoon during his bond hearing before District Court Judge Barry A. Hamilton in Rockville.
Byrd has also been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, reckless endangerment, carrying a handgun, using a handgun in the commission of a violent crime and resisting arrest.
Hamilton said the charges carry sentences of "life down to three years" in prison.
Byrd is already on probation for a drug conviction in Washington, D.C., said Leah Gurowitz, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Superior Court. Byrd was indicted on distribution of cocaine and pleaded guilty to attempted possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, she said.
He was sentenced on Oct. 20, 2006, to 13 months in jail with credit for time served and placed on five years of supervised probation following his release, Gurowitz said.
Fourth District police officers and county Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to the report of a shooting in the 4100 block of Peppertree Lane at approximately 5:45 p.m. Monday, police said.
The 34-year-old male victim said he had been walking his dog on Connecticut Avenue when a white Mercedes with Washington, D.C., tags stopped near him, according to charging documents in District Court. Three men and two women were inside the car.
The people in the car first asked about his dog, but then wanted to know if he had anything on him, patted down his pockets and demanded his property, the charging documents state.
Byrd later told police he was meeting with the victim to buy marijuana, according to the charging documents. He claimed the victim had tried to rip him off, Ray Pilkerton, an assistant Montgomery County state's attorney, said during the bond hearing.
One man, later identified as Byrd, pulled out a handgun and shot the victim in the right shoulder, according to the documents.
The car fled south on Connecticut Avenue and the victim ran to his residence and called police. He was later transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police broadcast a description of the men and women and their vehicle and officers saw the car on Georgia Avenue near Shorefield Road in Wheaton.
When officers stopped the vehicle, Byrd got out and ran away carrying the handgun, police said. He was arrested following a manhunt that included officers on foot, canine and the Maryland State Police helicopter near the area of 12039 Georgia Ave., the charging document state. The handgun, which was stolen property, was found behind a Popeyes restaurant at 12102 Georgia Ave, according to the documents.
Before he was taken into police custody, he offered three people cash to drive him into Washington, D.C., in an effort to flee the scene, according to the documents.
The other passengers of the car were initially taken into police custody, but have not been charged, Brenner said.
Johanna Newman, an assistant county public defender who appeared on behalf of multiple defendants, said little during the bond hearing, but asked that bail be set for Byrd despite pretrial services recommending against it. She said she was not Byrd's lawyer and could not comment on the case.
Carol Smith, a receptionist for the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender, said Byrd would be represented by a public defender, but one had not yet been assigned to him.
Byrd is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 13 in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville.