Jury Trial Begins for Alleged S. Paca Street Killer

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The murder trial of Damion Thomas, 45, continued on July 1 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Michael A. DiPietro, with six witnesses from the prosecution taking the stand to testify.

Thomas is charged with first- and second-degree murder and assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime and several other firearm-related charges in connection to the death of 37-year-old Brian Nesbitt.

The incident occurred on Aug. 21, 2024, on the 800 block of S. Paca Street.

According to charging documents, area surveillance footage captured a man, who appeared to be Thomas, driving a gray Dodge Journey SUV to the crime scene. A man identified as Nesbitt was seen approaching the vehicle, which Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers later learned was registered to Thomas’ mother.

Following an altercation between the two, Nesbitt was seen falling to the ground.

During opening statements the previous day, the prosecution noted detectives also obtained Thomas’ phone number and used cell site mapping to track his phone through the city. However, due to the lack of eyewitness accounts, the prosecution relied on and heavily emphasized circumstantial evidence in their argument.

Defense attorney Martin Cohen refuted the prosecution’s words about circumstantial evidence, claiming investigators failed to recover Thomas’ DNA from Nesbitt’s body. Furthermore, the execution of a search and seizure warrant on Thomas’ mother’s home failed to produce a firearm that could be linked to the crime.

“You will not see, hear, or use any other senses to see any evidence,” Cohen told the jury. “They will not be able to prove this case.”

A detective who took the stand stated he swabbed the car for latent prints, but conceded they failed to recover a firearm, ballistic residue or DNA. He also claimed his senior officer was convinced of Thomas’ guilt and consequently told him to only search and swab for traces of Thomas.

The trial is set to continue on July 2.