‘Beyond regrettable’: Judge declares mistrial in Pasadena double murder case citing state errors

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Just shy of a conclusion in the Anthony Reyes trial, the man accused of murdering his longtime friend William “Charlie” Hayes and his wife, Jeanna, the presiding judge declared a mistrial Friday morning.

The news rocked an already emotional family that had packed the courtroom, expecting a possible conclusion after four days of trial.

Reyes is facing charges of first-degree and second-degree murder after police say he shot the Hayeses in their Pasadena home on Twickenham Road in November 2025. Charging documents allege that a verbal dispute over money could be heard on a 911 call from inside the house. A woman can be heard pleading over the phone for a “Tony” not to shoot. Several gunshots are heard over the line before it goes silent.

A witness told police that Reyes admitted to the crime and that he was going to the Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover afterwards. After a brief car chase the same day of the murders, Anne Arundel County police arrested Reyes. He has been held in jail without bond since.

Judge Mark Crooks said he was “gobsmacked”, expressing vocal frustration and anger with prosecutors after they began closing arguments, saying they made “sophomoric mistakes” that called into question the fairness of Reyes’ trial and his Sixth Amendment constitutional right.

Crooks pointed at three crucial errors by prosecutors: telling the jury that Reyes “chose” to represent himself, including information on slides that was inconsistent with the charging conference, and showing the jury a photo that had not been submitted into evidence when the judge had denied Reyes the same right just moments prior.

The most egregious, he said, was the first.

Reyes, appearing in court in a wheelchair, had fired his public defender in May and stated that he could not afford another. He continued to request representation up until the beginning of trial.

A jury note suggested that the jury already had frustrations about delays due to Reyes’ lack of procedural knowledge.

Despite protests from prosecutors that declaring a mistrial would be “extreme” and “draconian”, the judge disagreed.

“The state committed an error that’s not harmless,” Judge Crooks said on the bench. “Incredibly regrettable that, for manifest destiny, I have to declare a mistrial.”

A status conference has been scheduled for later this month.