Attorneys: Man accused of shooting Baltimore County police officers denied adequate medical care
Dylan Segelbaum
The Baltimore Banner
February 13, 2024
A man who’s accused of shooting two Baltimore County police officers and setting off a days-long manhunt is again asking a judge to release him on home detention, alleging that he’s being denied adequate medical care in jail in violation of his constitutional rights.
In a petition filed on Feb. 4, David Linthicum’s attorneys, Deborah Katz Levi and James Dills, wrote that their client has been experiencing “constant pain and visible swelling on the right, lower side of his jaw” that’s prevented him from sleeping and eating, which has led to migraines. He has also not received any mental health treatment in the Baltimore County Detention Center since his arrest, they said, despite “repeated reports of depression.”
Prosecutors failed multiple times to turn over information in the case in a timely manner, they said, which exacerbated their client’s medical health issues.
“When the State refuses to provide Mr. Linthicum with reasonable health and mental health services, and when the State is the reason for prolonging the amount of time Mr. Linthicum must spend in pre-trial detention, then the State has failed to meet its obligation to provide adequate medical care,” Levi and Dills said.
“This amounts to a violation of Mr. Linthicum’s constitutional rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.”
Levi is the director of special litigation for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender in Baltimore. Dills is the district public defender for Baltimore County.
On Feb. 8, 2023, police allege that Linthicum shot Officer Barry Jordan, who had responded to a call at a home on Powers Avenue above Sherwood Road in Cockeysville.
Linthicum’s father, John, or Whit, had called and expressed concerns that his son was experiencing suicidal thoughts, police reported.
Next, on Feb. 9, 2023, Linthicum, police assert, shot Detective Jonathan Chih, stole his 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 and led law enforcement on a chase that ended in a field. The Harford County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on Feb. 10, 2023.
Baltimore County Circuit Judge Dennis M. Robinson Jr. previously denied a motion for bail.
Levi and Dills are separately asking a judge to hold a hearing, impose an appropriate sanction on the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office and order the state to provide certain information.
In a motion filed on Feb. 9, Levi and Dills said prosecutors repeatedly claimed that police did not prepare a use of force report in the case, but that representation to the court turned out to be “entirely untrue.” That’s because the state has now provided one use of force report dated Sept. 28, 2023, that’s incomplete.
Prosecutors, they said, either misrepresented facts, made assertions with a reckless disregard for the truth or failed to exercise due diligence.
“The State’s misrepresentations in this case about a serious issue that goes to the heart of Mr. Linthicum’s defense, on top of additional discovery violations and prior baseless pleadings seeking to impair the attorney client relationship, establish a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct that violates Mr. Linthicum’s rights to due process and a fair trial,” Levi and Dills said.
Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said he could not comment because the case is open.
“We turn over everything we are obligated to turn over,” Shellenberger said. “We’ll have a response when we need to file it in court.”
Linthicum, 25, is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and related offenses. His trial is scheduled to begin on May 20.