FREDERICK, Md. (AP/ABC7) - Prosecutors say a Frederick man charged with murdering his former girlfriend called her more than 1,400 times in the four days before she was shot outside her apartment.

Continue reading

The Frederick News-Post reports that the evidence surfaced Monday on the fourth day of Melvin Smith's first-degree murder trial in Frederick.

He's charged with killing Tranice Richardson on July 8. Prosecutors say telephone records indicate Smith placed calls and send text messages to three numbers associated with Richardson.

Several days after the shooting, Smith, 27, was tracked down and arrested in Pennsylvania.

Richardson had attempted to place a restraining order on Smith in 2009, records show, but the order was dismissed when she failed to show up for a court hearing. She was also the father of Smith's child, according to paternity tests.

Some text messages accused her of seeing other men. The defense contends it's impossible to prove Smith made the calls.

Also Monday, the judge dismissed a third juror in the case, leaving just one alternate left. The juror said she knew one of the witnesses. The trial is scheduled to run through Friday.