Jurors began deliberating on March 20 the fate of a man accused of a fatal mass shooting and a separate armed robbery following closing statements before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jefferey Geller.
Phillip Morton, 27, was originally indicted on 38 charges related to two incidents: a June 17, 2019 armed robbery of a Baltimore Best Wings on the 1400 block of E. Cold Spring Lane, and a July 11, 2019 mass shooting inside a Subway restaurant on the 5600 block of The Alameda. The shooting left 16-year-old Travis Chance dead and two others severely injured.
Judge Geller dismissed 27 of the charges in rulings issued on March 16 and 19, but the reasons were not disclosed in court. The jury is now considering the 11 remaining counts, including first-and-second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, four counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of use of a firearm in a felony or violent crime.
In closing arguments Friday, the prosecution emphasized ballistic evidence, as well as videos and pictures recovered from Morton’s cellphone. A ballistics examiner testified that 24 shell casings recovered from the Subway scene came from two different firearms, a rifle and a handgun. The discovery of ballistic evidence from multiple weapons, the prosecution says, indicates two individuals shot at Chance.
Investigators focused primarily on the rifle, describing it as a rare model previously seen in only one other case–the Baltimore Best Wings robbery. A detective testified that the same firearm allegedly appeared in a video recovered from Morton’s phone, leading investigators to conclude that Morton conspired with two others to carry out the homicide and armed robbery.
Investigators also intercepted a letter written from jail in which Morton allegedly confessed to a murder. The prosecution argued that the letter was referring to the killing of Chance.
Defense attorney Avrohom Greenfield challenged that interpretation, characterizing the prosecution’s case as one of “guilt by bad character.”
He argued that details in the letter point to a different, unrelated homicide. According to Greenfield, Morton wrote that he was shot during the incident described in the letter, but there is no evidence he was injured in the Subway shooting.
The letter also states the killing occurred on his mother’s birthday, a date that has not been established in court.
Greenfield contended that, while the letter may suggest Morton was involved in a separate homicide, the prosecution has not provided sufficient evidence to establish he was referring to Chance’s murder.
Jurors are not here to determine if Morton “is a bad guy, isn’t a bad guy, did commit another murder, didn’t commit another murder”, Greenfield reminded the jury.
He encouraged them to focus on determining whether Morton is responsible for the murder of Travis Chance.
Jurors are currently deliberating the evidence.
