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By
Kerryn Ayers
- February 28, 2025
Court
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Homicides
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Shooting
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On Feb. 28, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland set a July 18 trial date for homicide codefendants Joseph Walker, 49, and Joseph Coates, 40. The trial is projected to last a week.
Both suspects are charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, firearm use in a felony violent crime, conspiracy to use a firearm in a felony violent crime, and firearm possession with previous felony convictions in connection to the Dec. 15, 2023 murder of 26-year-old Marvin Jackson.
According to charging documents, officers responded to the 1800 block of Aiken Street following a ShotSpotter alert. Upon arrival, they located Jackson, who was unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck. He was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Medical examiners conducted an autopsy and determined his cause of death was homicide.
Video footage recovered from the area captured a heavyset man in a bright orange sweatshirt and blue coat, as well as a thin man in dark clothes and a face mask, exiting a white 2020 Volkswagen Passat with a damaged window on the passenger side. The two men were then captured approaching Jackson.
Witnesses familiar with the suspects allegedly identified the heavyset man as Walker and the thin man as Coates. After a brief interaction with Jackson, an individual said to be Walker was seen shooting Jackson with a gun equipped with a laser pointer. Walker then allegedly rummaged through the victim’s pockets while Coates picked an unidentified object off the ground near Jackson’s body.