Viral video suspect gets bail reduced; police looking for three others

BALTIMORE - A punch landed in the viral video of the beating and stripping of a victim in downtown Baltimore landed Aaron Parsons in Central Booking on a million dollars bail.

     

Monday, defense attorney Warren Brown argued that number down to half on account his client, Parsons doesn't have a record, didn't have a weapon and eventually turned himself in.

      

Still high Brown says, a number fueled by the intense emotional reaction to the video.

 

"Hysteria is ruling the day,” said Brown.  [How do you defend your client's actions?] Well, from a moral point of view you don't, from a legal point of view, they charged him with robbery, that is taking somebody's property.  What they have is him on camera hitting someone."     

 

Brown says Parsons punched the victim and it was others who robbed him.

     

A second degree assault he argues; a misdemeanor, not worth a bail typically reserved for violent offenders.

 

Even at the reduced bail of a half a million dollars Brown says Parson's is not going to post that either. 

 

With this case continuing to develop and police continuing to search for other suspects in that video, Brown says it could be quite some time before he can get a chance to try and reduce it even further.

 

"There are more individuals in this case that we are looking for.  Hopefully now that we identified one of them and charged him, it will lead to the identity of the others," said Baltimore Police Spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi.

 

Not exactly.

          

Parsons says he doesn't know any of the other three suspects in the video and can't help police.

           

His attorney argues they were not together and the other three should face the more serious charges of robbery and conspiracy.

           

While his client punched the victim, Brown argues his role in the viral video ends there.

 

"What I think angered people the most was when they degraded the man.  When the stripped him, when they then took his property.  All of the things that Aaron had nothing to do with.  If you look at the video, he's not involved in that at all."

 

An argument Brown says exists between the frames of the now infamous video; one he hopes to begin making in court next month.