Marilyn Mosby held in contempt of court for violating gag order in Keith Davis Jr. case
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby was held in contempt of court Friday after a judge found she violated a gag order in the case of Keith Davis Jr., who is awaiting his fifth murder trial.
Due to the impending new trial, Mosby requested the gag order, which the judge granted on June 7. But in July, when someone questioned how Mosby has handled the case and followed up by saying Mosby "has definitely LOST MY VOTE!!"
Mosby responded to the Instagram post by saying, "You really shouldn't believe everything you read."
Circuit Judge John S. Nugent said Mosby's comments willfully violated the gag order when she made the post on Instagram. The opposing council made the argument that the comment could influence public opinion in the case.
"I cannot see the social media comments on Instagram as anything but a willful violation of this court's gag order," said Nugent, who ordered Mosby to pay a $1,500 fine.
Mosby could avoid the fine if she complies with a more restrictive gag order and refrains from making any comments for the next 90 days without the court's permission.
"We are just happy that today the judge has kind of cloaked Keith with a presumption of innocence. He is innocent until proven guilty." Davis' wife Kelly told WJZ. "Keith continues to be vindicated, as he was vilified for the past seven years and I'm so glad that a judge finally saw that and is very serious about his presumption of innocence."
Davis, 31, is awaiting a fifth trial in the 2015 murder of a Pimlico security guard. Two trials ended with a hung jury. One ended in a conviction that was later thrown out.
The most recent case ended in a conviction and 50-year sentence, but a judge granted Davis a new trial.On the morning of the murder, police chased Davis into an auto repair shop in Northwest Baltimore as part of an unrelated attempted robbery investigation and fired dozens of rounds, striking him three times, including in the face. He was found not guilty in the armed robbery, but later police charged him with the murder of the security guard, Kevin Jones.
Ivan Bates, the Democratic nominee for Baltimore state's attorney, has supported dismissing charges against Davis.
