Gun Incident Morphs Into Misdemeanor

Appeals Court Forces Prosecutors to Honor a Plea Deal They Had Revoked

A Clinton man who had been accused of pointing a handgun at three officers pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor -- a plea deal that Prince George's County prosecutors had offered more than a year ago, then revoked after being pressured by county police, according to court records.

An appeals court had forced prosecutors to honor the revoked plea deal.

Jeffrey Rios, 20, entered an Alford plea to one count of reckless endangerment, meaning he did not admit the specific allegations but agreed that the state had enough evidence to convict him.

Under the terms of the plea bargain, Rios, who was shot and wounded during the incident that led to his arrest, was sentenced to the 100 days he had already served in jail. Moments after he entered his plea, Rios said, "I didn't even have a gun."

Rios was arrested shortly before midnight Sept. 12, 2007, in a residential area in Clinton. According to police charging documents, three officers in plainclothes were in an unmarked Jeep Cherokee, looking for an unnamed suspect in the 9500 block of Badger Avenue in Clinton.

Rios, on a minibike, pulled up to the passenger side of the Cherokee and pointed a semiautomatic handgun at the officers. Fearing for their lives, the officers fired at Rios, according to the charging documents. Rios was wounded in the hand, hip and leg.

Ronald L. Schwartz, Rios's attorney, said Rios was knocked off the minibike and he ran to the porch of a friend, where police arrested him. Schwartz said police alleged in statements that Rios fired at them while wearing a ski mask, but there was no physical evidence to corroborate that. Police also did not recover a ski mask, Schwartz said. Those allegations never made it into the final charging papers, but one of the officers included them in his original statement.

Rios was charged with 11 offenses, including three counts of first-degree assault.

According to an opinion published by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals on June 12, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Pearson had extensive plea negotiations with Rios's attorneys.

In early April 2008, Pearson offered Rios a plea to a handgun violation and reckless endangerment, with a sentence of the time the defendant had already served, according to the appellate court. Schwartz rejected the offer and made a counteroffer, the court found.

On April 22, 2008, Schwartz asked Pearson about a plea deal. Pearson replied that he could not agree to the proposed deal. "He stated that he was getting pressure from the police and his superiors to not make a plea offer," the appellate court wrote. Schwartz said he would accept the first plea deal. Later, Pearson said he would not make a deal.

Schwartz filed an appeal, arguing that the original plea offer should stand, and the appellate court agreed.

In October 2006, Rios was charged with pointing two handguns at his stepfather and shooting at the stepfather's vehicle. In January 2008, he was charged with illegal handgun possession. Charges in both cases were dropped.