Inmate heavily bound at hearing

Kevin G. Johns Jr., the prisoner charged with strangling a fellow inmate on a prison bus in February, was brought to court yesterday with his ankles shackled, his wrists handcuffed to a waist chain and his hands encased in black mitts, as defense attorneys and prosecutors negotiated a schedule for future hearings and worked out an agreement to keep some evidence in the case away from the twice-convicted killer.

Responding to prosecutors' concerns about the safety of potential witnesses, defense lawyers agreed yesterday in Baltimore County Circuit Court not to give Johns copies of trial documents. At the same time, they signaled their intent to challenge the choice of Baltimore County as the place to try Johns for the Feb. 2 killing of inmate Philip E. Parker Jr. aboard a prison bus as it rumbled along a 75-mile route from Hagerstown to the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center - known as Supermax - in Baltimore.

At the brief hearing, to which Johns, 22, was apparently transported alone, Assistant State's Attorney S. Ann Brobst told the judge that she had requested a protective order to restrict the defendant's access to witness information out of concern for their safety. "We didn't want discovery materials copied and handed over to the defendant," she said.

When investigators searched Johns' prison cell after the bus killing, they found copies of autopsy photos, witness statements and police reports from one of Johns' previous murder cases, according to court documents.

Also found in the cell were letters from Johns to other inmates that included witness statements to police "so that the witnesses against him were known to other inmates in the Division of Correction," Brobst wrote in her request to the judge. Noting that many witnesses in the current murder case are inmates, Brobst wrote, "Even if the division can isolate the witnesses from Johns, they cannot protect all of the witnesses from Johns' making their names known throughout the Division of Correction."

Johns is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Parker, a 20-year-old inmate serving a 3 1/2 -year sentence for unarmed robbery, on a prison bus among 35 inmates who sat shackled in ankle, waist and wrist chains.

A notice of termination for one of the correctional officers riding the bus that day indicates that the early-morning trip "proceeded without apparent incident until it reached the Security Mall area in Baltimore County," about 18 minutes before arriving at Supermax. At that time, a correctional officer saw Johns change seats on the bus "and became suspicious that there was a problem," the termination notice shows.

Although the prison bus traveled through Frederick, Howard and Baltimore counties before arriving in Baltimore City, Johns was charged in Baltimore County as a result of witness interviews, Brobst said. She declined yesterday to elaborate. The location of the case is significant because Baltimore County prosecutors seek the death penalty more frequently than their counterparts in other Maryland jurisdictions.

William C. Brennan Jr., one of three lawyers representing Johns, told the judge that the defense team will also seek to suppress Johns' statement to police and any relevant searches.

Asked by Judge Thomas J. Bollinger whether he wanted an evaluation of Johns' competency or criminal responsibility, Brennan said, "We are not raising the issue of competency this morning." Defense lawyers declined to comment on the case after the hearing.

Although the judge signed an order in March prohibiting Johns' attorneys from sharing with their client the contents of discovery - the witness lists, police reports, photographs, medical reports and witness interviews used as evidence in a case - he rescinded the directive yesterday. Defense attorney Harry J. Trainor Jr. said he does not leave copies of discovery materials with imprisoned defendants and will take all security precautions that are reasonably necessary when sharing witness information with Johns.

A motions hearing on the venue issue was scheduled for July with a two-week trial scheduled for February.

Dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, Johns said nothing during yesterday's hearing, although he appeared attentive and interested. He frequently looked around the courtroom and rolled his eyes repeatedly as prosecutors detailed concerns about witness safety.

Although state DOC officials declined to answer questions about Johns' transportation to court in Towson yesterday - spokeswoman Priscilla Doggett said the "methods of transport" are "a matter of security information" - Baltimore County court personnel said he was the sole passenger on a prison bus driven from Supermax.

Three county sheriff's deputies and two state correctional officers escorted Johns into the courtroom. Padded mitts restricted use of his hands, forcing one of his lawyers to sign a waiver form on his behalf.

On Feb. 1, the day before the prison bus killing, Johns was sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally strangling, stomping on and cutting his 16-year-old cellmate.

Related topic galleries: Punishment, Murder, Assault, Prisons, Defendants, Lawyers, Witnesses

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