Text messages revealed day before trial did not violate discovery, Md. Appellate Court finds

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Text messages between a criminal defendant and a victim introduced on the eve of trial are not a discovery violation, the Maryland Appellate Court found.

In an unreported opinion written by Judge Douglas R. M. Nazarian and filed last week, the Maryland Appellate Court affirmed the judgment of the Baltimore City Circuit Court in holding that Corey Pointer’s text messages with a former acquaintance concerning money owed were properly admitted and did not violate the rules of discovery.

The appeals court also ruled that the circuit court properly refused to give the jury a self-defense instruction and did not abuse its discretion.

In making its ruling, the appellate court noted that Pointer was a party to all 27 text messages, writing, “These were not text messages that Mr. Pointer could not have known existed.”

In March 2021, Pointer met with Ebony Forrest and demanded repayment of a debt, from which Forrest eventually walked away. As she turned to leave, Pointer punched Forrest in the back of her head, berating her about the money owed and telling her to get his gun from her rental car. According to the opinion, as Forrest tried to get to her car, she was shot from behind in numerous places on her body.

After the shooting, Forrest saw Pointer steal her belongings as he shouted at bystanders to back off. According to the opinion, although Forrest did not see who fired the gun, she believed Pointer shot her.

Police arrested Pointer in April 2021, charging him with attempted murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, armed robbery, robbery, theft and handgun-related offenses.

On the day before trial, Forrest met with prosecutors to discuss the case, revealing text messages between Pointer and herself that discussed a dispute over money. Prosecutors sent the texts to defense counsel that afternoon, according to the opinion.

On the day of trial, Pointer filed a pretrial motion to exclude the text messages, arguing the texts should be excluded “based on a violation of discovery and fairness” in light of when the texts were disclosed.

During trial, Pointer also asked the circuit court to give the jury a self-defense instruction because his car was hit by gunshots, arguing, “If, in fact, his car was shot up, maybe that’s a legitimate reason for him to fire at [Forrest].” The circuit court denied Pointer’s request, finding no basis for the instruction.

The jury for the Baltimore City Circuit Court convicted Pointer of first-degree assault, robbery and reckless endangerment. The court sentenced Pointer to 25 years’ imprisonment, suspending all but 15 years for the first-degree assault conviction and a consecutive 15 years for the robbery conviction.

A spokesperson for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General declined to comment because the litigation is currently ongoing. A spokesperson for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender could not be immediately reached for comment.