Suspect in girlfriend murder plot jailed in threat to other girlfriend

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

A Bryans Road man charged with trying to murder his girlfriend was jailed earlier this month after, prosecutors said, he attempted to intimidate a witness expected to testify that a gun went missing from her nightstand the day of the Anne Arundel County shooting.

Charles Brandon Martin, 32, arranged to meet the witness, who was also one of his girlfriends, at a grocery store in Charles County on Oct. 8, according to the motion to revoke his bond.

The witness has told prosecutors that on Oct. 27, 2008, the date the victim was shot in the head, a semi-automatic handgun disappeared from her bedside, adding that Martin later admitted he had taken the weapon, according to court documents

During his meeting with the witness, Martin allegedly said the state's evidence against him was weak except for her testimony. Martin told her she would be charged with conspiracy if she didn't change her story and tell the police and state's attorney's office that he stored a drill rather than a gun at her home, court papers state.

"You know you are the only witness they have," he reportedly said.

He also told her that he still loved her and embraced her, grabbing her so hard it hurt, according to court documents. When the witness pushed Martin away, he gave her a look she called "intimidating," prosecutors stated.

The state's attorney's office is putting the woman in the witness protection program out of fear for her safety.

Martin and Jerold Raymond Burks, 23, of Waldorf are both charged with the attempted first-degree murder of the victim. Martin was released from jail in April on a $500,000 bond, but an Anne Arundel County judge revoked the bond at the Oct. 16 hearing.

brodgers@somdnews.com