Acquitted: Man Accused of Shooting Victim in Neck Found Not Guilty of Attempted Murder, Related Charges

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A 54-year-old man has been acquitted of attempted murder charges following accusations that he shot another man in the neck last December.

On Sept. 26, a jury found Kim Alderman not guilty of attempted first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, firearm use in a felony or violent crime, firearm possession with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, having a loaded handgun on his person and discharging a firearm in Baltimore City as well as two counts of reckless endangerment.

Alderman’s trial was held before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Troy K. Hill, with attorney Isabel Lipman as the defendant’s counsel.

During closing arguments the prosecution told jurors that although they may not know why the victim was shot, they know who fired the gun on the 800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on Dec. 5, 2023.

“We don’t know what they were talking about. We don’t know what they were arguing about. We don’t know what the dispute was about,” the prosecutor said, adding that the jury is able to make “reasonable inferences” based on the defendant’s and victim’s body language.

Baltimore Police Department Officers (BPD) also found the bicycle inside his home the defendant was seen riding in city surveillance footage. The alleged murder weapon was not recovered; however, the prosecutor said “anything could’ve happened with the weapon” after Alderman barricaded himself inside his home when police arrived.

Lipman argued that jurors were left with more questions than answers. Police found the PVC pipe that she said the victim swung at her client, but the remaining information presented to the jury was “speculation.” 

“Why wasn’t that brought in front of you?” Lipman asked, regarding the PVC pipe. “…Is there something on there [the prosecution] doesn’t want you to see?”

There were also no witnesses of the shooting and the victim never identified the shooter, she noted.