<div>A Frederick man accused of murdering another man during an altercation at a hookah lounge in March 2023 has been acquitted after a jury trial.Derell Len Prue, 33, was found not guilty of first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter, conspiracy to commit murder and use of a firearm in commission of a violent crime in connection with the killing of 28-year-old Romario Tevin Anderson, according to a Sept. 16 verdict sheet.In a separate jury trial that same day, Prue was convicted of illegally possessing a handgun. Under Maryland law, a court can order separate trials on different counts in an indictment if including all charges in one trial would prejudice any party.Prue was disqualified from legally possessing a firearm in Maryland due to a 2011 conviction for second-degree assault, online court records show.According to online court records, a sentencing hearing for Prue’s conviction has not yet been scheduled.Jacqueline Rottmann, a spokesperson for the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office, said in a phone interview on Thursday that the office could not ethically comment on Prue’s case while sentencing is pending.Prue will continue to be held at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center as he awaits sentencing, Rottmann said.Prue has been held without bail since his June 2023 arrest in connection with the killing of Anderson, who was fatally stabbed at the now-defunct Exhale Lounge in downtown Frederick on March 18, 2023.A third man, James Peter Brown Jr., was also charged with first- and second-degree murder in connection with the killing.A warrant for his arrest was issued on the day of the killing, but it has yet to be served, according to online court records.Christopher Griffiths, an attorney who represented Prue in both the murder and gun possession trials, said it was not his client, but Brown, who ultimately stabbed Anderson after getting involved in the fight.According to Griffiths, prosecutors showed security camera footage in court that captured Prue pulling out a gun, grabbing Anderson and pulling him down to the floor. However, Griffiths said on Thursday, the video only showed one angle.A different camera angle would have showed that Anderson was actually the first to pull out a gun and that Prue reacted in self-defense, Griffiths said.“Once he was on the ground, Prue spent the whole time trying to grab the gun out of the other guy’s hand,” Griffiths said.Andrew Jezic, another attorney who represented Prue in court, added on Thursday that Prue did not have his finger on the trigger when he pulled his gun on Anderson.“Prue could’ve killed this guy at any point during a 58-second struggle, but he never pulled the trigger,” Jezic said.On Thursday, Jezic filed a motion asking the Frederick County Circuit Court to grant Prue a new trial on the possession charge and dismiss that count of the original indictment.In the motion, Jezic argues that “a blanket finding that second degree assault is a crime of violence is not ... proof of dangerousness” as applied to Prue, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions about the constitutionality of firearms prohibitions for people convicted of crimes or subject to protective orders.“I think we’ve got a fantastic case,” Jezic said in a phone interview on Thursday. “I am very hopeful that either a new trial will be granted or the conviction will be dismissed on appeal.”</div>

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Frederick man acquitted of hookah lounge killing; awaiting sentencing on gun charge

A Frederick man accused of murdering another man during an altercation at a hookah lounge in March 2023 has been acquitted after a jury trial. Derell Len Prue, 33, was found not guilty of first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter, conspiracy to commit murder and use of a firearm in commission of a violent crime in connection with the killing of 28-year-old Romario Tevin Anderson, according to a Sept. 16 verdict sheet.