Man Charged In Bel Air Murder Held Without Bail

A Harford County judge ordered that a Dundalk man charged with murder remain held without bail Wednesday based, in part, on his criminal history.

31, of the 100 block of William Wade Avenue, was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault in connection with the death of 52-year-old Rodney Holmes Smith earlier this month.

Police found Smith dead in his apartment in the 200 block of Baltimore Pike in Bel Air on Dec. 9. Charging documents state he sustained stab wounds to the neck and the cause of death was sharp force trauma.

At Colbert's Wednesday afternoon bail hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Kemba Lydia-Moore said a latent finger print matching Colbert was taken from a vodka bottle inside Smith's apartment.

Lydia-Moore outlined Colbert's criminal record, which includes six convictions. He is currently on parole for drug possession with the intent to distribute and is on probation for a separate instance of drug possession with intent to distribute and attempted robbery, Lydia-Moore said.

"He is a danger to the community," Lydia-Moore said during the hearing in Harford County District Court.

Assistant Public Defender Bruce Andres said that Colbert lives with his mother and he is welcome to return home if released. Andres said that while Colbert currently lives in Dundalk, he did live in Harford County for two years and has ties to the area.

Colbert also addressed the judge through a closed circuit television system.

"I cannot control the charges trumped up against me," Colbert said. "There are clearly loopholes in this case."

Andres interrupted Colbert and advised him not to talk about the circumstances surrounding the charges because anything he said could be used against him. The defense attorney argued that Colbert has never failed to appear in court and wants to return home to be with his mother who is suffering from cancer.

"I didn't do this," Colbert said.

District Court Judge Susan Hazlett ordered that Colbert remain in custody without bail at the Harford County Detention Center based on the facts that he was on parole and on probation in other cases and now faces a new charge of murder.

Charging documents indicate illegal drug sales may have brought Colbert to Smith's Baltimore Pike apartment the night Smith died.

Around 8:30 a.m. Dec. 9, someone called 911 and reported a friend was covered in blood inside the apartment and had possibly killed himself, call records show. When police arrived they found Smith's body.

Smith's friend told police she talked to the victim shortly before 11 p.m. Dec. 8 and that Smith allegedly had said a man was there who wanted to sell and use crack cocaine, according to charging documents.

The woman told police that when she spoke with Smith, he said he was fine.

During the investigation, police found small amounts of crack cocaine on Smith's kitchen chair and residue on the kitchen table, according to charging documents.

While Bel Air Police Chief Leo Matrangola initially characterized Smith's cause of death as blunt force trauma, charging documents state that he sustained stab wounds to the neck and the cause of death was sharp force trauma.