BALTIMORE — One of two drivers responsible for the death of six construction workers on I-695 in March 2023, is being freed from prison after serving just three months of an 18-month sentence.
A Baltimore County Circuit judge approved Melachi Brown's release on Friday, over the state's objection. He will now serve out the rest of his sentence on home detention.
Brown's attorneys argued for early release saying their client has no prior criminal record, poses no threat to public safety, and fears for his life behind bars.
Mr. Brown suffers from anxiety and depression, and those conditions are particularly exacerbated by the disruptive and hostile environment in the Detention Center. Mr. Brown is enduring harassment, threats of violence, and intimidation inside the Detention Center. Mr. Brown cites drug use, threats of violence against him, and gang activity inside the institution which place him in fear of serious bodily injury as reasons for pleading for a modification to home detention.
Brown previously pleaded guilty to six counts of felony auto manslaughter, and faced up to 78 years in prison.
However in January, the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office agreed to a plea deal requiring only 18 months behind bars.
In opposing early release, prosecutors say the plea deal Brown accepted was fair.
Despite the defendant’s lack of a prior record, his sentencing guidelines called for a period of confinement from three months to 24 years in this case. The sentence as imposed is both fair and appropriate given the facts and circumstances of this case, along with the sentencing guidelines.
Evidence suggests just five seconds before the deadly crash, Brown was traveling 122 mph in a 55 mph construction zone, and 111 mph at the time of impact.
Brown's involvement in the collision came when his car was struck by the second at-fault driver, Lisa Adrienna Lea.
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Investigators believe it was Lea who made an unsafe lane change, causing her Acura to hit Brown's Volkswagen along the I-695 inner loop near Security Boulevard.
The impact led Lea's car to spin out and plow through the construction barrier, killing all six workers named below.
Rolando Ruiz, 46, of Laurel
Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, 43, of Frederick
Jose Armando Escobar, 52, of Frederick
Mahlon Simmons III, 31, of Union Bridge
Mahlon Simmons II, 52, of Union Bridge
Sybil Lee DiMaggio, 46, of Glen Burnie
MORE: The 695 tragedy — one year later
Lea's defense team now says she suffered a seizure leading up to the crash, although charging documents allege she was impaired going 121 mph at the time of the crash.
She's scheduled to go on trial in November.
