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By
Ryka Dandeker
- September 24, 2025
Attempted Murder
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Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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The homicide trial of Kimani Johnson, 33, concluded before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia H. Jones on Sept. 24, with the victim’s high school sweetheart and fiancée giving heartbreaking testimony.
Aaron Frantom, 37, lived the last year of his life suffering from quadriplegia due to a gunshot wound allegedly fired by Johnson on June 16, 2023. Frantom was shot near W. Baltimore Street and N. Fulton Avenue after he and a friend pulled over to make a phone call.
Shortly after, two men approached the car, a gun was placed a to Frantom’s friend’s head, and he was instructed to “run his pockets.”
The gun was fired, and the friend was able to duck, but the bullet struck Frantom in the neck and shoulder, paralyzing him from the neck down. Frantom succumbed to his injuries a year later, on Aug. 3, 2024.
Frantom’s fiancée testified about Frantom’s dismal quality of life after the shooting, explaining that he was unable to breathe and eat without medical assistance. She discussed how difficult it was to slowly lose the love of her life, whom she also called her best friend since the age of 15.
During his closing argument, defense attorney Roland Harris urged the jury to discount Frantom’s fiancée, reminding them sympathy should play no role in their verdict.
Harris also criticized the eyewitness testimony of Frantom’s friend, the original target of the armed robbery, saying that his accounts were unreliable due to the fear he likely felt during the incident.
Although the witness was able to provide investigators with a positive identification of Johnson via photographic array, Harris noted his description of Johnson’s clothes differed from his actual garb the night of the incident.
The jury is currently deliberating.