Charges have been dropped against two of the three men who had been accused of being co-conspirators in the August murder of an Edgewood activist?s son.
Sean Nelson Smith, 27, was convicted last week of second-degree murder in the killing of 25-year-old Samuel Horne.
The charges have been dropped against Nicholas Porter, 27, and Vance Major, 28, while prosecutors try to decide whether 27-year-old Ravon Watson can still be charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder afterthe jury acquitted Smith of first-degree murder.
A warrant charging Major with first-degree murder and conspiracy had been issued in September.
But the warrant for Major, who had not been arrested, was recalled two weeks ago, and the charges were dropped, said Sgt. Christina Presberry, spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff?s Office.
“At this point in the investigation, detectives believe he was more of a witness than a suspect,” Presberry said.
During Smith?s trial, John Janowich, an assistant public defender, said Major took the gun from Smith and fired the fourth shot at Horne.
H. Scott Lewis, a deputy state?s attorney, said Major could still face arrest if he becomes a suspect again, as there?s no statute of limitations on murder. But Presberry said the investigation appeared to be closed.
Porter, another of the four men who police say were with Smith when Horne was murdered, had struck a deal with prosecutors. Porter faces charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and being an accessory after the fact, Lewis said. Porter, who had been living in Essex, has been released from jail.
Watson, an Edgewood native, had been arrested in Yonkers, N.Y., Sept. 8. He was being held without bail at the Harford County Detention Center, charged with two counts of conspiracy and two counts of accessory after the fact in connection with the Edgewood murder.
But Lewis said he was reviewing case law to determine whether Watson could still be tried for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
“He maintains his innocence, and he is encouraged by the not-guilty verdict on the conspiracy charges against Smith,” said Andrew Alperstein, Watson?s attorney.
Watson?s trial is scheduled for March.
