Attempted murder charge dropped against Hagerstown man in stabbing at convenience store

Julie E. Greene, The Herald-Mail
·3 min read
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The Washington County Courthouse, which houses circuit court, is seen in this undated file photo

The attempted murder charge against a Hagerstown man who claimed self-defense for a June stabbing at a convenience store has been dropped as the case progresses to Washington County Circuit Court, according to court records.

Lacobe Terill Felton, 51, is still charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment in the June 27 stabbing of Kareem Abdul Roberts, 31, at a convenience store in the 200 block of West Franklin Street in Hagerstown, court records show.

A preliminary hearing was held in Washington County District Court on July 26 and a criminal information filing on Aug. 26 moved the case forward to circuit court without the additional original charge of attempted second-degree murder, according to court records and an online court docket.

An attempted murder charge, generally, has a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison, while a first-degree assault conviction can result in up to 25 years in prison.

After originally being held without bond, Felton had a bond review and was released from the Washington County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond on July 27, according to an online court docket.

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Police responded to the store at 7:21 p.m. and found Roberts with a life-threatening stab wound to the chest, according to the charging document filed against Felton. Roberts was taken to Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown and later transferred to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Police reviewed surveillance video and saw Roberts appear to make a comment toward Felton as Felton got out of his truck. The two argued, which continued in the store. Roberts is seen walking back and forth several times between Felton and the front door as they argue. The last time Roberts approaches Felton, Felton is seen making a stabbing motion toward Roberts' chest, charging documents state.

At Hagerstown Police headquarters, an emotional and tearful Felton told police he feared Roberts was going to attack him so he got out his cellphone to call 911. He couldn't complete the call because Roberts continued to approach him, so Felton got out his knife and held it for protection, the document states.

Felton told police that when Roberts came at him aggressively, he struck Roberts once in the chest with the knife "only in self-defense." Then he ran, with numerous people chasing him and one male threw a brick at him to try to stop him, according to charging documents.

Assistant State's Attorney Christina Palmer, during a June 28 bail review hearing, told the judge that Felton had a record of drug charges in 1997, 1998 and 2001, and noted the seriousness of the charges related to the prior day's stabbing.

Assistant Public Defender Robert Sheehan noted Felton had no criminal record for the past 20 years, while Roberts had assault charges pending against him at the time.

Assistant State's Attorney Chris McCormack, now listed as the prosecutor for the case, had no comment Friday about the attempted murder charge being dropped.

Felton's defense attorney, Laura Guadalupe Morton, also had no comment on Friday about the case. Morton filed her appearance as Felton's new attorney on Thursday, according to an online court docket.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Attempted murder charge dropped in Hagerstown stabbing case at store