A Harford County man admitted Tuesday to strangling his deaf cellmate to death at a Baltimore jail two years ago while awaiting trial on charges stemming from a fatal stabbing.
Gordon Staron, 35, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Oct. 9, 2022, killing of Javarick Gantt, whose death angered advocates for incarcerated people with disabilities .
Gantt was being held without bail at Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center pending trial on charges stemming from a domestic incident in which no one was seriously injured. He died a month before his 35th birthday and experts questioned why he was being housed with Staron, who was being held on murder charges.
The guilty plea came after a jury on Thursday convicted Staron of first-degree murder and carrying a dangerous weapon in the Sept. 6, 2022, killing of 63-year-old Keith Bell , following a four-day trial in Baltimore Circuit Court.
Staron faces the possibility of life in prison at sentencing for both cases, which is scheduled for Dec. 19.