Fourth man charged in St. Patrick's Day 2022 shooting death in Hagerstown

A fourth person has been charged in the St. Patrick's Day 2022 fatal shooting of a Hagerstown man in the city's West End.

Two other defendants in the murder case entered plea deals in recent months, while the third defendant has a jury trial scheduled for December.

A Washington County grand jury has indicted Kyeron, or Kye'ron, Zaimere Cottingham, 26, of the Frederick, Md., area on charges including first- and second-degree murder in the death of Jermaine Reed II, 27, according to the indictment filed Wednesday.

Cottingham was being held without bond Friday at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center.

What can be done?: Crowd of 100 complain about reckless driving, low enforcement on Md. 67 near Boonsboro

What did police find when they responded March 17, 2022?

Hagerstown Police responded to the area of Alexander and Dale streets around 4 p.m. on March 17 last year for a report of a gunshot victim, according to a police news release. They found Reed on a sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police reported in charging documents that city surveillance cameras show Reed sitting in his vehicle parked on Alexander Street when a Honda Accord pulled up next to Reed and two people in the back seat leaned out windows on both sides and began firing at Reed and his vehicle. Reed got out of his vehicle and ran north on the sidewalk while the shooters continued firing. He collapsed on the sidewalk and later died at Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown.

Hagerstown Police initially filed murder charges against Cottingham on May 19, noting in charging documents that a source of information, on May 17, told police that "Kruddy" was the second shooter. The source said "Kruddy," also known as Kye'ron, was locked up in Frederick, Md., at that time.

City police used that information to identify Cottingham, whom the source "positively identified" in a photo array as the second shooter, according to charging documents.

Deputy District Public Defender Sean Mukherjee, in an email Thursday, wrote "Mr. Cottingham is presumed to be innocent of the charges, and no one should be jumping to conclusions, this early on after hearing only the prosecution's side of the story."

Also charged in the case have been Kevin Dwayne Nunn, 28, of Walkersville, Md.; Bradley Nathan Walker, 24, whose address in charging documents is northeast of Clear Spring; and Berquan Howard Carroll, 24, of Hagerstown.

Walkersville man pleads to second-degree murder in Hagerstown shooting case

Nunn pleaded guilty June 20 in Washington County Circuit Court to second-degree murder. Other charges, including first-degree murder, were dropped.

Nunn is facing up to 40 years in state prison on the second-degree murder plea.

Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson ordered a pre-sentence investigation for Nunn.

Washington County traffic concern: For county officials, a tanker crash on I-81 reinforces the need for expansion project

Deputy State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer said Nunn was one of two shooters in the case.

As Mollett-Gaumer described the state's case to Wilkinson, she said police backtracked from the scene of the shooting using city surveillance footage to determine Nunn was wearing a distinctive cloth head covering earlier in the day. That's part of how police were able to distinguish Nunn from the Honda's other occupants, she said.

Referring to Reed being shot at by two guns, defense attorney Andrew Alperstein told Wilkinson that the other person had an extended magazine gun.

Clear Spring-area man pleads in Jermaine Reed murder case

Walker pleaded guilty in circuit court on May 22 to conspiring to first-degree assault of Reed.

Other charges against Walker in the case, including first- and second-degree murder, were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Judge Brett R. Wilson said during the hearing that while the conspiracy charge is a misdemeanor, it still carries the same penalty as the underlying felony and that Walker faces up to 25 years in state prison.

Attorney argues self-defense: Hagerstown man acquitted in murder case

Walker's sentencing was delayed.

He was later released on personal recognizance, according to court records. During the May hearing Wilson also mentioned the defense arranging a contract for home detention for Walker.

Washington County State's Attorney Gina Cirincion, noting that not all of the defendants' cases in the murder had been adjudicated, said in an email that she had no comment on Walker's and Nunn's plea deals.

Walker's defense attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Hagerstown man's murder trial later this year

A jury trial for Carroll, whose charges include first- and second-degree murder, is scheduled for December.

Carroll's previous defense attorney, in August, filed paperwork in court last August for a not criminally responsible plea as well as stating Carroll is not competent to stand trial because he doesn't understand the court proceedings and can't assist in his defense.

The former alleges Carroll was not criminally responsible when the alleged crimes were committed in March 2022.

Carroll wrote a letter to Wilson last summer stating he has various mental-health issues, according to a copy of the letter filed with his case.

Wilson ordered Carroll to be evaluated by the Maryland Department of Health to determine whether he is criminally responsible to stand trial.

Carroll's current defense attorney, Laura Guadalupe Morton, said Thursday she had no comment.

Carroll and Nunn were being held without bond Friday at the Washington County Detention Center.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Two plea; 4th man charged in St. Paddy's Day 2022 murder in Hagerstown