Two involved burglaries and assaults.
The Frederick County Grand Jury on Friday handed down indictments in 9 cases, including Timothy Awkard, 41, of Jefferson. The panel charged him with 1st and 2nd-degree assault in connection with an incident on March 6th, 2012 in Jefferson. "It was a domestic violence case where the defendant strangled and tried to suffocate his girlfriend with a pillow in front of her four-year-old daughter," says State's Attorney Charlie Smith.
The Grand Jury also indicted Guy Tyrelle Johnson, 29, of Frederick with a long list of charges, including 1st and 4th-degree burglary, theft, malicious destruction of property, being a rogue and a vagabond, five counts of 2nd-degree assault and resisting arrest. Smith says Johnson assaulted his girlfriend in Frederick on March 1st, 2012, stole her car keys, and entered a friend's house, where money and electronics were stolen. Frederick Police officers located Johnson inside the home. "When the police officers entered the home to get him out, he resisted arrest. He actually bit and kicked the officer several times," Smith says.
He says the rest of cases mostly involved drug offenses. But in one instance, Lorne Kelly Hamilton, 48, of Frederick was charged with 2nd-degree child abuse and 2nd-degree assault. Smith says the defendant got into a fight with his step-son on February 14th, 2012, and threw him against a bathroom wall.
Using the Grand Jury helps move these cases through the criminal justice system at a much quicker pace, according to Smith.
