The trial of Amir Barnes-Henderson, 27, began July 29 before Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy.
Barnes Henderson is charged with first-degree murder and several firearm charges in relation to the deadly shooting of 34-year-old Gary Lee Matthews outside of One Stop Liquor Shop on the 4900 block of Frankford Avenue.
In opening statements, the prosecution described the shooting as “execution style”, with 22 gunshot wounds, including 12 to the head, fired from less than 18 inches away.
The prosecution stated they would show surveillance camera footage from two businesses near the crime scene and one from a neighboring house’s doorbell camera. The prosecution also claimed that an eyewitness, who was in a nearby store when the incident occurred, would also testify. According to the prosecution, the witness told police that he recognized the shooter.
This was undoubtedly first-degree murder and Barnes-Henderson was clearly the perpetrator, the prosecutor said.
Defense attorney, Augustine Okeke pointed out the video footage is either too far away to clearly make out any faces, or was not positioned to show the actual incident.
Further, the eyewitness brought forth by the prosecution, Okeke claimed, was unreliable since he is a drug addict with prior convictions. Although a murder undoubtedly took place, the defense asked the jury to examine the facts of the case in order to determine whether or not they believed that Barnes-Henerson was the perpetrator.
The first witness reported that he was in a neighboring store when he heard the gunshots go off. He exited the store to see the victim, a friend of his, on the ground.
Reportedly taking a gun from the scene, the witness fired at the shooter, chasing him off. As the police arrived, the witness repeatedly stated that Barnes-Henderson did it, and later gave the police directions to Barnes-Henderson’s home address, all of which was captured on footage by a responding officer’s body cam.
However, on the stand, the witness claimed that he had no memory of what he said to the police, nor of recognizing the shooter. He also stated that a warrant had been issued to compel him to testify, which he had been hesitant to do because he “wasn’t a snitch”.
During cross-examination with the defense, the exchange became heated, with the witness repeatedly cursing, and answering the defense attorney’s questions with “none of your business”.
Three other witnesses took the stand in the morning. One was the owner of a nearby house, whose doorbell camera footage had captured the incident. The footage, which included audio, showed two individuals loudly arguing, until one repeatedly shot the other. However, the footage was too far away to make out the face of the perpetrator.
The other two witnesses were police officers and detectives who analyzed body cam footage, photo evidence, witness testimonies, and ballistic evidence.
Barnes-Henderson’s trial is slated to continue on July 30. .
