Taneytown woman pleads guilty to assault in February shooting near middle school
Kristen Naill of Taneytown has pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced to a five-year prison term in a February shooting, according to a news release from the Office of the State’s Attorney for Carroll County.
Naill’s fiance Michael Joiner, 37, of Taneytown was found guilty in the same incident of two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, and two counts of reckless endangerment of minor children, during an August jury trial, according to the state’s attorney’s office. He has yet to be sentenced.
Naill, 34, was sentenced Sept. 29 to 15 years, with all but five years suspended, for assault. The assault charge was paired with a sentence of 15 years fully suspended for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, stemming from a Jan. 4 traffic stop not related to the February shooting, according to the news release.
The shooting happened at Naill’s and Joyner’s residence in the 300 block of East Baltimore St., on the afternoon of Feb. 10. The home is near two schools and the shooting occurred shortly after Northwest Middle School had dismissed students for the day, according to Deputy State’s Attorney Sandra L. Johnson.
The incident began when Taneytown resident Ted Rill and his father Lester Rill arrived at Naill’s and Joiner’s home to discuss the return of a piece of construction equipment called a gas tamper engine that was reported stolen from Rill Construction Services in Taneytown.
According to the news release, Naill confronted the Rills and pointed a semi-automatic pistol at Ted Rill’s head. Video surveillance showed that Ted Rill then disarmed Nail, at which time Joiner pointed a semi-automatic handgun at Rills, the news release stated.
Ted Rill was shot twice in the struggle and Joiner once, according to the state’s attorney’s office. Both men were transported to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center for treatment.
The trial of Michael Joiner
Deputy State’s Attorney Sandra Johnson, who represented Rill, said at Joiner’s trial that Ted Rill acted in self-defense when a bullet from Naill’s gun was accidentally discharged and struck Joiner. Johnson said Joiner intentionally shot Ted Rill twice in the leg.
Dustin Rill, who works at Rills Construction and is a relative of the Rills, testified at Joiner’s trial that the gas tamper engine was stolen on Jan. 30 from the back of a truck. He testified that the act was caught on an outside security camera.
Joiner’s attorney, Thomas Edward Hickman, told the jury that Joiner was approached by Rill Construction asking if he wanted a tamper, and that Joiner paid $500 for the equipment. Joiner later learned the tamper “might” be stolen, Hickman said, and when Ted and Lester Rill showed up asking for the tamper on Feb. 10, Joiner asked for his money back.
Taneytown Police Officer Lt. Jessie Castellar testified that it was a chaotic scene when he arrived, and he ordered Joiner to drop the gun.
During “a series of phone calls between Rill and Joiner,” Hickman said Ted Rill threatened Joiner and his children.
Joiner is being held without bail in the Carroll County Detention Center, pending sentencing. Judge Fred Hecker ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled Joiner’s sentencing for Nov. 8, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Naill’s drug possession charge
On Jan. 4, Naill’s vehicle was stopped on Route 140 near the border between Carroll and Baltimore counties. According to the news release, Naill’s vehicle was stopped for crossing the double yellow line and for an unsafe lane change by the Proactive Criminal Enforcement Unit of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
The news release stated that a K-9 Unit alerted law enforcement to the presence of a controlled dangerous substance in the vehicle during the traffic stop and 12.6 grams of crack cocaine were found during a search of the vehicle.
Naill accepted a binding plea from Carroll County Circuit Judge Brian L. DeLeonardo on the possession with the intent to distribute charge in the January traffic stop.
Naill will serve five years in a Maryland Department of Corrections facility and will be placed on five years probation after serving the sentence. During her probation she must have no contact with any member of the Rill family or any employee of Rill Construction.
According to the news release, she will have an opportunity to ask a judge to modify the sentence and consider her for entry into a drug-treatment program.
Molly Fellin Spence and Sherry Greenfield contributed to this article.
