Defendant said she didn’t understand her options when she pleaded.
MOUNT AIRY, Md. (AP) – A judge has rejected a woman’s request to withdraw a plea in connection with a burglary during which officers shot and killed her partner.
The Frederick News-Post reports 29-year-old Shyann Outen tried Thursday to withdraw her Alford plea on felony burglary and theft charges, saying she didn’t understand her full array of options when she pleaded in February. An Alford plea acknowledges prosecutors have sufficient evidence to win a conviction, without admitting guilt.
Judge William R. Nicklas Jr. said there was insufficient reason to withdraw the plea.
Outen was arrested in July 2017 for a Mt. Airy burglary in which Howard County police officers fatally shot Cody Mitchell while trying to stop the van they say he was driving toward them. The officers were not charged in Mitchell’s death.
By The Associated Press