During Sentencing Son Says He Didn't Mean To Kill MOM

Written by

Steve Muska

SNOW HILL -- A Darby, Pa., man convicted in the murder of his mother was sentenced to 25 years in prison during a Worcester County Circuit Court hearing Friday morning.

Steven Molin, 58, was convicted of second-degree murder in March in the death of his 85-year-old mother, Emily Molin, after he allegedly ran her over several times with a vehicle on a rural road near Berlin. He was acquitted of a first-degree murder charge.

Before Judge Thomas Groton handed down his sentence, Molin spoke in the courtroom for more than 30 minutes about the care he used to give his mother, the amount of money he spent on ensuring her well-being and his anger with the staff at the nursing home she had been living in until the day of her death.

Molin said once during the address that he was sorry his mother had died "in the accident."

"That was the extent of his remorse," said Groton, who also described testimony from responders to the scene who said Molin had been "somewhat calm" while his mother was lying in the middle of the road.

"For me, that bolsters the state's argument and the jury's findings that this was an intentional act," Groton said.

Molin continued to insist his mother's death was accidental during the trial and sentencing, something Groton said he believes Molin is using as a defense mechanism to avoid the remorse he would otherwise feel for his actions.

During State's Attorney Beau Oglesby's address to Groton, he mentioned Molin's conviction of murder, and Molin interjected, exclaiming that "it was an accident."

Molin was reprimanded by Groton for his outburst.

Oglesby sought the maximum sentence of 30 years for Molin's crime, due to the state's belief that Molin had "intentionally and deliberately killed his mom."

In Molin's account, he and his mother drove from Pennsylvania to visit his father's gravesite in Berlin. Molin had taken his mother from the nursing home without permission, according to trial testimony. He told police his mother had accidentally fallen out of the car, and he had not noticed when she did.

The case was one of the most unusual Groton has seen on the bench, the judge said. In some ways, Steven Molin is very intelligent, he said, but it had also become clear to him that there was "a piece missing" mentally.

Groton said Molin's autism and Asperger's syndrome are no excuse for what he did, and they don't prevent similar actions from happening again.

"Killing a parent is one of the most horrendous acts," Groton said before announcing the sentence.

Molin said to his public defender, Burton Anderson, after the hearing that the outcome was "a death sentence" for him.

Source;  http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110611/NEWS01/106110332/During-sentencing-son-says-he-didn-t-mean-kill-mom?odyssey=obinsite

Harmon Murder Trial Will Be Rescheduled

CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

SNOW HILL -- A Worcester County Circuit Court Judge postponed the trial of murder suspect Skylor Dupree Harmon at the request of the defense.

Judge Thomas Groton granted the postponement request from defense attorney Denise Fried. The trial, which had been set for May 9-12, will be rescheduled.

"With the trial on Monday, with him facing the rest of his life in jail, we need time to prepare," Fried said.

Harmon faces first-degree murder charges from his alleged role in the May 2010 death of Virginia resident Reginald Jerome Handy Jr.

Alexander Crippen, 36, was originally charged with the crime, but the charges were dropped, and he was later convicted of trying to kill a different man. At the time, prosecutors said the forensic evidence that cleared Crippen of murder charges in Handy's death was also helpful in identifying Harmon as the suspect.

Fried told the judge she needed time to go through the transcripts from Crippen's case to study testimony of witnesses who might be testifying against Harmon. She also wants to transcribe the audio tapes associated with the case and to give Harmon the chance to listen to them.

Harmon was identified as the primary suspect in Handy's death in December. According to court documents, the night Handy was shot at 503 Laurel St. in Pocomoke City, a witness saw a flash of a gun go off beside 500 Young St., which parallels Laurel Street. A witness told police that immediately afterward, he saw Harmon near the flash. Police later found a .223 Bushmaster assault rifle between 500 and 502 Young St., which was determined to be the weapon used to killed Handy, according to court documents.

Fried said the postponement would also give her time to consult an expert regarding the bullet that killed Handy. She said the bullet could not necessarily be traced to the gun found at the scene.

In separate court cases, Harmon was also charged with resisting arrest, failure to obey law enforcement, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, disorderly conduct, making a false statement to a police officer, malicious destruction of property and obstructing and hindering.

Source; http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110504/NEWS01/105040382/Harmon-murder-trial-rescheduled?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|frontpage|p

Brian D. Shockley Sworn In As Worcester County Circuit Court Judge

OCEAN CITY -- Ocean City attorney Brian D. Shockley has been sworn in as Worcester County's newest Circuit Court judge.

"I will not let you down," he told the standing-room-only courtroom of about 150 family members, colleagues and friends. "I have earned the appointment and now it is time to earn your trust."

Circuit Court Clerk Stephen Hales administered the oath that invested Shockley as an associate judge for the 1st judicial circuit for the Circuit Court of Maryland.

After Shockley removed his suit jacket, his wife helped him put on his black judge's robe, and he walked around the bench to take a seat beside the other judges.

From the bench, he told the crowd how the last month since his judicial appointment by Gov. Martin O'Malley has been "a whirlwind" and the reality of his appointment was just setting in. He said he is "honored, thrilled and humbled" to have been selected as a judge.

Shockley added he's learned that being an effective judge means "you have to listen, you have to be fair and you can't take yourself too seriously."

Shockley, 45, of West Ocean City, will fill the vacancy created by the June 2010 retirement of Judge Ted Eschenburg.

Seated in the jury box alongside several other attending county judges, Eschenburg was introduced by Somerset Circuit Court Judge Danny Long as "the gentleman who made this celebration possible today."

Shockley is a 1987 graduate of Davidson College and a 1992 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law. Since 1995, he has been an attorney at the Ocean City-based law firm of Williams, Moore, Shockley, and Harrison, LLP, becoming a partner in 2000.

Joe Moore, a partner with the firm, said he feels mixed emotions seeing Shockley move onto the bench. Moore isn't just a colleague -- he and Shockley's father, Ray, have practiced law together for more than 36 years in the resort.

Shockley's departure is a "true sense of loss for the firm," Moore said during the swearing-in ceremony, but called it "most assuredly Worcester County's gain."

Shockley later said packing up his office and leaving the firm after 16 years was "bittersweet."

The judicial application process, Shockley said, led him to reflect on his own life. He said the knowledge and wisdom he gained from his family and colleagues over time has shaped him.

"I'm very proud to say I'm a product of my father," he said, noting his father's ascent from humble beginnings to state trooper to respected attorney and community philanthropist.

"His commitment to public service was quiet but profound, and I'm in no small part influenced by him," he added.

Shockley joins on the bench Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Thomas C. Groton III, who moved up to chief judge when Eschenburg retired.

www.delmarvanow.com

Sellers Convicted Of First Degree Arson In Worcester County

A man with no permanent address has been convicted of First Degree Arson from a house fire that occurred on Keyser Point Road in Ocean City back on April 11th. Thomas Sellers was arrested on September 1st. Then earlier this month, Worcester County Circuit Court convicted Sellers of intentionally setting the blaze. A Pre Sentence Investigation has been ordered.
December 6, 2010 – West Ocean City Arson Conviction
Written by Matt Owens

Monday, 06 December 2010 12:45 The Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office has been investigating an April 11, 2010 residential house fire at 10359 Keyser Point Road, Ocean City, Maryland in Worcester County. Evidence and information from interviews led to the September 1, 2010 arrest of Thomas W. Sellers, (no permanent address). On December 1, 2010, Worcester County Circuit Court convicted Sellers of First Degree Arson. A Pre Sentence Investigation has been ordered. Anyone with additional questions is asked to contact Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Matthew Owens at 410-632-5666 x 2 or at mowens@wcfmo.orgmowens@wcfmo.org.

www.wgmd.com

Five Applicant's In The Running For County Judge's Seat

BERLIN – The field of applicants for the recently vacated Worcester County Circuit Court judgeship was made public this week and includes a handful of familiar names including a sitting Circuit Court Master and a few well-known local attorneys.

The Maryland Judicial Nominating Committee late Wednesday posted the list of applicants for the Worcester County Circuit Court seat made vacant by longtime Judge Theodore Eschenberg, who officially retired in late June having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The list includes sitting Worcester County Circuit Court Master Mary Margaret “Peggy” Kent, prominent local attorneys including Brian Shockley, Regan J.R. Smith and Kathryn Westbrook and Baltimore City prosecutor Cheryl Kelley Jacobs.

With the passage of the Aug. 11 deadline to apply for the vacancy, the Judicial Nominating Committee will now interview each of the applicants and pare down a smaller list to present to Governor Martin O’Malley, who will likely make the appointment. The nominating committee will review the qualifications of the applicants on or before its Sept. 28 meeting and forward a condensed list to the governor shortly thereafter.

The governor will then make an appointment from the list forwarded by the committee, which typically includes at least three names. It is uncertain what would happen if the appointment process dragged on beyond the November election.

The qualifications of a judge fall into distinct categories including legal, professional and personal. A qualified candidate has to have U.S. and Maryland citizenship, be registered to vote in state elections at the time of the appointment, be a resident of Maryland for at least five years and a resident for at least six months prior to the appointment in the geographic area where the vacancy exists. Other qualifications include being at least 30 years of age at the time of the appointment and current membership in the Maryland Bar.

Historically, sitting District Court judges apply for nomination and are ultimately appointed to fill vacancies in higher courts, but the sitting District Court judges in Worcester County are conspicuous by their absence from the list released by the committee on Wednesday. Certainly, Kent, who has served as Master in the Worcester County Circuit Court for several years, is an example of a sitting judge who could be elevated to a higher position in the court system.

However, there is plenty of precedent for a private attorney gaining an appointment to a Circuit Court vacancy and the other applicants on the list released this week are clearly qualified. When Eschenberg retired, longtime colleague on the Worcester Circuit Court bench Judge Thomas Groton took over as the administrative judge in the county and Judge Richard Bloxom moved into the position held by Groton.

As a result, the vacant seat will be the Family Law judge for Worcester County, a position with which Kent is very familiar. As the current Master for Worcester County, Kent routinely presides over family law-related cases. Westbrook, a local attorney with a private practice in West Ocean City, is also well versed in family law having spent the last 20 years arguing separation agreements, child custody cases, wills, estates and other family law-related cases. She is currently a mediator with the Lower Shore Circuit and District Courts.

“That has been the focus of my practice for the last 20 years,” Westbrook said yesterday. “When the powers that be decided this was going to be a Family Law seat, I decided I would apply for it because I would very much like to continue in family law and this is a logical step for me.”

Smith and Shockley are both partners in the Ocean City firm Williams, Moore, Shockley and Harrison and each brings a wealth of experience to the table. Smith’s areas of expertise include real estate and corporate law, probate, estate planning and zoning law. He served as assistant state’s attorney in Worcester County from 1989 to 1998 and serves on the Boards of Directors for Atlantic General Hospital and the Bank of Ocean City.

Shockley will draw on similar experiences as he seeks the vacant Circuit Court seat. His focus of his practice has been on civil and criminal law, probate, real estate, corporate law and administrative and zoning law. He serves on the Boards of Directors for Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Worcester County GOLD and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.

Little is known about Jacobs, other than she is currently an assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore City. The qualifications are specific about the residency of the prospective nominees including being a resident of Maryland for at least five years and a resident for at least six months prior to the appointment in the geographic area where the vacancy exists. Although the extent of her experience in Worcester is not known, clearly Jacobs must be able to meet the residency qualifications if she applied for the judicial vacancy.

www.mdcoastdispatch.com