Charles Village Court Watch

On January 28, 2012, Kahlil Madden, then age 18, tried doors on Abell Avenue.  A neighbor saw this, called police and also informed someone who was walking his dog.  The dog walker followed Madden, and at 30th and Guilford, the dog walker took a photo of Madden using his cell phone.  At this point, Madden showed a bowie knife just as a police officer arrived.  Madden tossed the knife, it was recovered, and he was arrested.

On May 29, 2012, Madden plead guilty before Judge Lynn Stewart to possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to cause injury, and in accordance with his plea deal, he was sentenced to 2 years with all but 3 days served suspended.  In addition, he was given 2 years supervised probation.

Madden was charged with a robbery allegedly committed on November 13, 2012 in Baltimore County.  Last May 20, he plead guilty to second degree assault in Baltimore County Circuit Court, and his sentence was one year suspended and one year supervised probation.  The statement of facts given by the assistant state's attorney in that case made it definitely sound like a robbery.

This morning, Madden was scheduled for a violation of probation hearing before Judge Stewart, but he was not led into the courtroom by a correction officer and his case was not called until shortly after 4 p.m. due to a very lengthy docket.  Madden plead guilty to the violation of probation, specifically to violation of Rule 4 (a requirement to obey all laws).  The assistant state's attorney stated that Madden had been charged with robbery but had been convicted of second degree assault.  The state's recommendation was that in view of the short amount of suspended time, the full remainder of the sentence be imposed.

When it was Madden's turn to speak, he apologized and said that he had a serious drug problem and wanted treatment either inside or outside of prison.  His attorney asked for a split sentence, i.e. for part of the suspended time to be imposed and for the remainder to be suspended again with supervised probation again.  This was to give the court a club to use to make sure that Madden got the drug treatment he needed.  Also, Madden's attorney noted that Madden works for his father.

At this point, Madden was sentenced by Judge Stewart to the full suspended time, i.e. to 1 year 11 months 27 days.  She recommended that Madden receive drug treatment in prison.

In my opinion, this was a fair sentence.  If Madden's problem really stems from drugs, and I have no reason to doubt that drugs are a major part of his problem, then I hope that he will get the treatment he needs to become a productive member of society.  In addition, I hope that he will be away from drugs while in prison.  He is still young and has time to turn his life around if he truly wants to.  Let us hope that he does.