Dietrich Baker waived his right to a preliminary hearing today, signaling that perhaps a plea deal is imminent in the second-degree murder case.
Baker is suspected in the shooting death of James Ray Sherrod near a Kenilworth Avenue bus stop on a Saturday afternoon in April.
Charging documents in the case rely on the testimony of two witnesses, in addition of a surveillence video. According to those accounts, Sherrod approached the bus stop, greeted Baker, and spoke with him briefly. “Within seconds, [Baker] produced a large handgun and started shooting at [Sherrod], striking him multiple times.”
According to the charging documents, Baker then ran across the street and behind a building, ditching a backpack in a dumpster. Police later recovered a backpack from the dumpster as well as a .357 caliber Taurus revolver with five spent cartridge casings and one live round inside the chamber of the gun.
Baker is due back in court for a status hearing Sept. 7, but attorneys said that they could be back sooner.
