Jury trial for Bel Air murder postponed

The trial of an 18-year-old charged with murdering a Bel Air man, scheduled to start next week, has been postponed until April.

The trial of Donnell Graham, of the 200 block of Fairwood Drive in Bel Air, was scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 30 in Harford County Circuit Court, but has been rescheduled. Another pre-trial conference has been scheduled for March 1 and a criminal motions hearing for March 12.

The trial is scheduled for April 16.

Graham is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, theft less than $1,000, attempted theft less than $1,000, attempted robbery, robbery, carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of first-degree burglary, all in connection with the stabbing death of Patrick Xavier Ward.

Graham was 17 years old at the time.

On Aug. 5, Mr. Ward was stabbed several times in his upper torso inside his apartment in the 900 block of Redfield Road. The 29-year-old man was taken by ambulance to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

At approximately 8:48 p.m. a neighbor called 911 because he heard men yelling inside Mr. Ward's apartment and also heard someone yell "it's under the futon." Neighbors tried to get into the apartment through the front door, and eventually got in through the balcony, police said.

Deputies arrived to find two people holding a towel to Mr. Ward's chest. Neighbors identified "Darnell" as the stabber, and police dogs tracked a scent from Mr. Ward's apartment to Fairwood Drive, where Graham lives. Bloody pants and a knife were found outside the home.

At the time, detectives said they thought Graham was not aware of Mr. Ward's presence during the alleged burglary attempt.

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