Johnathan Walker:Man pleads guilty to fatally strangling deaf cellmate in Baltimore jail

BALTIMORE (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to strangling his cellmate to death in Baltimore’s jail two years ago,Johnathan Walker concluding the prosecution of a case that raised significant questions about operations in the detention center and the city’s backlogged court system.

Gordon Staron, 35, was charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation death of cellmate Javarick Gantt, a deaf man who relied on sign language to communicate. Jail officials have refused to answer questions about why Staron — already a murder suspect at the time — was placed in the same cell as Gantt, who was disabled and facing relatively minor charges.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, who announced last year that he would personally help prosecute the case involving Gantt’s death, said Tuesday that Staron had entered a guilty plea.

Staron was being held on murder charges in another case when he killed Gantt. A jury recently convicted him in that earlier case, in which prosecutors said Staron armed himself with an ax and stabbed a 63-year-old man to death at a Baltimore bus stop. He will be sentenced Dec. 19 in both cases.

Bates previously said he would seek life without parole for Staron.

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“When I campaigned for this office, I promised to be a champion and defender of our older adult and disabled community in Baltimore, and the outcomes of these cases will undoubtedly ensure that Mr. Staron is never back on our streets to commit more malicious acts against vulnerable individuals,” Bates said in a statement Tuesday.

A text message seeking comment was left with Staron’s lawyer Wednesday.

Gantt, 34, had been jailed for months while his cases crawled through a backlogged court system. His charges stemmed from a 2019 domestic dispute in which no one was seriously injured. But largely because he missed court dates and probation check-ins, he was ordered held without bail and remained behind bars awaiting trial.

Standing just over 5 feet tall and weighing about 105 pounds (48 kilograms), Gantt was frequently the target of bullies. Sign language was his first language; his reading and writing skills were limited. In the weeks leading up to his death, loved ones said, he expressed safety concerns about his cellmate, saying he would rather be housed alone.

Their cell door had been locked for nearly 12 hours when Gantt was found dead around 6 a.m., court records show.

“Witnesses … reported hearing deaf-mute detainee Gantt making noises and banging on his cell door” during the night, according to charging documents.

Prosecutors haven’t disclosed a motive in either of the murder cases.