Man convicted in murder of volunteer firefighter Jon Hickey granted postponed sentencing
BALTIMORE -- The man convicted in the 2017 killing of a volunteer fireman was supposed to be sentenced Monday, but a judge instead postponed it after granting last-second motions.
Daniel Greene was arrested in December 2017 in connection to the death of Jon Hickey.
MORE: Man found guilty of killing volunteer firefighter Jon Hickey
Baltimore Police found Hickey shot in the head in his Upper Fells Point home.
A jury convicted Greene in June on first-degree murder, home invasion and other firearms charges.
Right before his sentencing, Greene's attorney Warren Brown told the judge Greene wanted to seek new legal counsel, as well as ask for a postponement.
RELATED: Police ID Suspect Arrested For Murder Of Local Firefighter In Fells Point
Greene said he and Brown have reached an "impasse," and that new evidence has come to light that makes his case "not a closed matter."
Turn of events in court: Daniel Greene was supposed to be sentenced after a jury convicted him in the 2017 death of Jon Hickey.
— Dennis Valera (@dennisreports) September 11, 2023
Instead, a judge granted a postponement, also allowed him to seek new counsel.
Hickey’s family immediately got emotional in court. @wjz pic.twitter.com/qQyIJcd6Lc
Hickey’s mother, Kimberly, didn’t mince words with me outside the courthouse. She didn’t think a postponement was even possible.
— Dennis Valera (@dennisreports) September 11, 2023
Hear her in my report starting at 4 @wjz pic.twitter.com/dCDd2gNzDL
Despite a state prosecutor arguing the jury's decision should be respected, the judge sided with Greene, saying, "I want to do this right for everyone."
Ever since his death, Hickey's family and friends have wanted justice. When the judge made his decision, several at the hearing immediately got emotional.
Some even got into a back-and-forth with Greene's parents.
"You are disgusting," one of them said. "[Greene] gets what he wants again."
Outside the courthouse, his mother, Kimberly Hickey, told WJZ she was blindsided by what happened.
"I'd love to know what kind of evidence he thinks he's coming up with because everything was shown in court. It's a video showing him breaking into my son's home," Kimberly Hickey said.
Hickey was one of several who were ready to read victim statements in court.
"Jon would fill our crews, that's what [Greene] did, he took away from the community. [Jon] would be our fourth on the engine, you need four to fight fire," said friend Scott Amigh. "Jon was always there for us."
Kimberly Hickey and Amigh said they'll be ready to read their statements at the next hearing, which they hope is the last in this yearslong case.
"I really need to have this ending, after five years I need closure and this should've been it," Kimberly Hickey said.
This case will reconvene in November.