Judge orders Hagerstown teen homicide suspect to remain at adult detention center

A Washington County District Court Judge on Tuesday afternoon ordered that a 16-year-old charged in a recent homicide in Hagerstown continue to be held without bond in the Washington County Detention Center.

Judge Victoria J. Lobley denied defense attorney Craig Kadish's request to have Ty Shan Jerome Dotson, 16, transferred to a juvenile facility in Baltimore County, Md.

Dotson, of Hagerstown, is facing charges including first- and second-degree murder in the shooting death of Taron Shawnta Trice, 44, of Silver Spring, Md., according to Hagerstown Police. Charged as an adult, Dotson also faces charges of first- and second-degree assault and use of a firearm in a violent crime.

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Police responded to the 1400 block of Haven Road around 11:06 p.m. on Aug. 5 for a report of a homicide and found a person dead in the parking lot of the Stone Ridge Apartments and Townhomes. There does not appear to be a connection to the apartment complex because neither subjects live there, according to a police news release.

Kadish told the judge during the Tuesday afternoon bond hearing that an intoxicated Trice assaulted another youth and then Dotson. Dotson was sitting in the front passenger seat when Trice opened the door and punched Dotson after assaulting the other youth, said Kadish, referencing probable cause documents.

Then Dotson pulled out a gun and fired, Kadish said.

Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Flores said last week that the shooting followed a search for a phone belonging to Trice's girlfriend — who also is the mother of Dotson's girlfriend — and an altercation with Trice.

Dotson's girlfriend was driving her mother's car in which Dotson was a front-seat passenger, and the girlfriend's younger brother was in the backseat, Flores said. They went looking for Trice's car and Trice showed up and opened the front passenger door and started to hit Dotson, Flores said.

Dotson's response was to allegedly shoot Trice several times, she said.

Kadish said Tuesday there had been an incident at the home of Dotson's girlfriend's mom between the mom and Trice. There was drinking, and Trice took the mom's phone and left, he said.

The youths were at the mall and then the mom asked the teens for help in finding her phone using an app, Kadish said.

When the youths found the car there was no one in it, but Trice saw the youths pulling up, Kadish said. The other boy was looking for the mom's phone and was assaulted by Trice, who then went to the front passenger door and assaulted Dotson, he said.

While the charges are "incredibly serious," Dotson in this circumstance is not a danger to be transferred to the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, Kadish said. There, arrangements could be made to educate Dotson, who is about to enter his senior year of high school, Kadish said.

The Hickey School in Baltimore County includes a secure juvenile detention center for youth awaiting court or placement, according to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services website.

Kadish pointed out Dotson turned himself in to authorities on Aug. 9. He also said that Dotson, at age 16, is being kept in the medical area of the detention center instead of general population. In theory, Kadish said, Dotson could remain there for a year while waiting for his case to progress.

Assistant State's Attorney Brock Shriver, on Tuesday, raised Dotson's past criminal record, previous incidents at a juvenile facility, and that Dotson shot an unarmed Trice multiple times in arguing it would be inappropriate to transfer Dotson to a juvenile facility at this point.

Shriver said Dotson's criminal history includes being charged with attempted first-degree murder for a July 2021 shooting in which a 15-year-old Dotson was "lying in wait" at Mulberry Lofts.

Flores said last week that case resulted in a plea deal in which the attempted murder charge was dropped and a Juvenile Court judge gave Dotson six months' probation for weapons offenses.

Shriver said Dotson's juvenile history "is a pretty serious indictment on the juvenile system in Maryland."

"Now we're here again with a deceased individual," Shriver said.

Shriver also noted at least three dates in which Dotson was participating in a juvenile services program and either assaulted a staff member or resident, was fighting or was throwing objects.

Dotson has indicated by his actions that he has no concern about any restrictions or "civilized standards," Shriver said.

Lobley cited Dotson's alleged behavior, saying placing Dotson at a juvenile facility could result in harm to others, including children. She ordered him to continued being held at the detention center.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown teen to be held at adult detention center in murder case