The assault charges against middle school students accused of beating a woman aboard a Baltimore City bus in December still stand, a judge ruled Thursday, but four of the students will not face charges of assaulting the woman?s boyfriend or the bus driver.
Defense attorneys for five Robert Poole Middle School students had asked Baltimore Circuit Court Judge David Young to dismiss the charges, saying the state hadn?t proven their clients were the students who struck Sarah Kreager on Dec. 4 as more than 40 students rode home from school.
But Young dismissed the first-degree assault charges involving Troy Ennis, 30, and the No. 27 bus driver, Danny Williams.
The defense began presenting cases briefly Thursday, beginning with Robert Poole principal Tony Edwards.
Edwards testified that his staff composed a list of students eligible for traffic tickets based on their distance from school, and that the city and Maryland Transit Administration police never asked for a copy of the list.
The state?s cross-examination of Edwards was riddled with a chorus of objections from the defense attorneys.
Assistant State?s Attorney Dawn Jones asked Edwards how often the five students saw each other and if they shared classes, hinting at a theory the students conspired to cause a bus riot.
Edwards? testimony was cut short when defense attorney Margaret Desonier accused prosecutors of “trying to bootstrap their conspiracy theory onto the principal.”
Baltimore Police Officer Andrew McCarty also testified that Troy Ennis had given him a false name Oct. 18, 2007, when he encountered Ennis and Kreager while patrolling undercover for drug activity.
The defense attorneys are expected to continue calling witnesses Monday.
Of the nine students initially charged in the beating, prosecutors have dropped three of their cases. One 14-year-old girl pleaded “involved” ? the juvenile equivalent to guilty ? to misdemeanor assault after admitting to striking Kreager one time.
