Shondell Javon Middleton

La Plata, MD – It was just a status hearing for Shondell Javon Middleton, 19, of Clinton, NC, but what a hearing.

The proceedings Monday, June 20 before Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier had all the drama of a criminal trial. Middleton’s trial on murder charges is tentatively scheduled for September.

Middleton is being charged as an adult in the May 7, 2015 stabbing death of Jordan Anthony Lucas, 18, of Waldorf.

Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse asked Bragunier to revoke Middleton’s bond, based on charges the defendant accrued just before the Vivian Adams Drive stabbing.

Stackhouse reiterated what Charles County Sheriff’s Office investigators filed in their report of the crime, that Lucas was trying to get away from the defendant who had invited him to Vivian Adams Drive in Waldorf to fight, then chased him down the street with a knife.

“This is the person who told him to ‘come over to fight me,’ ” Stackhouse stated.

The prosecutor said on April 14, 2015 Middleton struck his girlfriend in North Carolina when she got a call from an ex-boyfriend.

“He has a pattern of violence,” Stackhouse noted.

Defense Attorney James Papirmeister said those charges were eventually dismissed and that despite the fact that his client lives in North Carolina, he has appeared in court seven times since his release.

“He has been here an hour early every time he has been asked to appear,” Papirmeister noted. “He comes to court and stays home. That’s what he does. The State is just now, a year later, asking you to reset his bail. He has perfect attendance in court. He has been 100 percent in compliance.”

Papirmeister asserted that his client was in fear of Lucas, who he claimed had bullied Middleton in the days prior to the stabbing.

Stackhouse said there was a blood trail through the parking lot where the victim was trying to get away from the defendant.

“He wasn’t scared,” Stackhouse said. “He took another man’s life.”

Papirmeister was asking for a continuance to delve into the substantial amount of material issued in discovery, a request Bragunier granted.

She denied the State’s motion to revoke bond, saying the defendant has appeared in court whenever asked to do so.

A jury trial is scheduled for September 12.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com