23-Year-Old Found Guilty of Murder in 2019

By Cynthia Eapen [former] - November 29, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Featured | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

After a jury spent one day deliberating the facts in a trial, Baltimore resident Jimmy Gerold McRavin was found guilty for first-degree murder, felony use of a firearm in a violent crime, and firearm possession with a felony conviction in October 2019. 

At the start of the trial on Nov. 12, the prosecution alleged that the murder occurred shortly after 1 p.m. on the 200 Block of Herring Court on Oct. 12, 2019.  McRavin and his girlfriend got into a heated altercation, which resulted in the death of her cousin, James Thompson. 

The prosecutor said McRavin and his girlfriend were arguing because he was smoking a cigarette and holding their child. After the defendant said he would not stop smoking, the girlfriend called her cousin to come help her with the situation. 

Shortly after, Thompson appeared outside McRavin’s home. What proceeded was a heated altercation between Thompson and McRavin, which ended with McRavin shooting Thompson.

During closing arguments, the prosecutor reminded the jury that McRavin had a gun in his pocket for an hour prior to the shooting and that “Mr. Thompson did not have a chance.” 

The first to testify in the trial was the lead detective who said that he found Thompson lying on the ground with two shots to the head when he arrived at the scene. 

As the trial progressed, McRavin’s mother was subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution. She spoke about how she heard her son’s girlfriend on the phone asking someone to come fight him.  

She said she feared that her son’s life was in danger, so she gave him a gun. 

The defendant’s girlfriend testified that she was not aware of her cousin coming to the house that day. She was also very uncooperative with counsel’s questioning.

The prosecution also called a neighbor and friend of the defendant’s mother to testify on the stand. In a previous interview, the friend said she saw McRavin shoot the victim on the front of his steps. Yet, during her testimony, she said that she only saw a “dude on the ground dead.” 

During defense attorney Julie Shapiro’s questioning of the lead detective confirmed that there were possibly 15 to 20 people in the area at the time of the shooting. 

During closing arguments, Shapiro explained to the jury how McRavin’s girlfriend was not telling the truth in her testimony and how she denied ever calling her cousin. This was completely contradictory to McRavin’s mother’s testimony who heard the phone call. 

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry G. Williams presided over the three-day trial. 

McRavin is next scheduled to appear in court for a collateral hearing on Dec. 10.