The trial of a Baltimore man accused of fatally shooting 27-year-old Kenneth Bivens in 2020 concluded with a murder acquittal on Oct. 31 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy, after jurors reviewed recorded witness testimony and heard closing arguments from both sides.
Donnell Johnson, 34, is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and having a handgun in his vehicle and on his person in connection to the shooting on the 1100 block of Beaumont Avenue.
The day began with the courtroom playing recordings from a witness who could not appear in person. The footage was difficult to hear, and jurors were instructed to rely on their memory of what they saw and heard from the videos and accompanying transcripts. They were told that the transcripts would not be available as evidence during deliberation.
Jurors later heard from a homicide detective who investigated the shooting and described arriving at the scene shortly after the gunfire. He said officers recovered a single shell casing, money, a wallet, and a cellphone in the middle of the street. The detective told jurors that investigators reviewed the victim’s phone records and found that the last call Bivens made was to a number linked to the defendant.
During questioning, Johnson denied being at the scene and claimed he did not know the victim had been shot. Investigators presented him with photos and phone data and confronted him about his wife’s cellphone, which was allegedly found near the scene. He continued to deny involvement and later requested an attorney after detectives accused him of shooting the victim during a marijuana transaction.
During closing arguments, the prosecution told jurors that Bivens was “a man who did what society asked of him” and that Johnson “brought a gun to a weed sale and used it.” The state showed photos of the victim with his family, as well as an image of him hospitalized following the shooting, while Bivens’ family wept in the gallery.
The defense, represented by Natalie A. Finegar, questioned the credibility of the investigation and the lack of physical evidence. Finegar pointed out that the phone allegedly belonging to the defendant’s wife was never proven to be hers, and that no fingerprints, DNA, or text messages were presented in court. She also criticized inconsistencies in witness descriptions and accused detectives of being “slick” with how they handled evidence.
“The absence of evidence is astonishing,” Finegar told jurors. “If the police had taken the investigation as seriously as you’ve taken your service as jurors, we wouldn’t be here today.”
In rebuttal, the prosecution reminded jurors that testimonial evidence is still evidence and said, “There is no perfect case and no perfect people.”
