The trial of Kendrick Henson, 17, concluded Sept. 10 with closing arguments debating whether the defendant fatally shot 14-year-old Jasper Davis in self-defense or as the aggressor.
Henson is charged with first-degree murder, firearm us in a felony violent crime, attempted first-degree murder, minor in possession of a firearm and handgun on person.
According to police documents, Davis was fatally shot on July 21, 2024, near the Mondawmin Station MTA location on the 2300 block of Liberty Heights Avenue. Officers recovered six 9mm cartridge casings, a cell phone and identified blood near the bottom of an escalator. Davis was transported to Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A second victim, a 19-year-old male, was also shot but survived.
Investigators later obtained surveillance footage from the Maryland Transportation Administration (MTA) Police. According to charging documents, the footage captured the shooting from beginning to end.
After Images of the suspect were shared on the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) social media and local news outlets, an eye witness positively identified Henson as the suspect.
Prosecutors used the surveillance footage to show Henson leaving a bus, pointing toward a group of three individuals that included Davis and the living victim, and continuing to follow the group moments before the shooting occurred.
Prosecutors also argued that Henson initiated the confrontation, emphasizing that six 9mm shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Henson previously testified that he did not shoot Davis in self-defense, the prosecutor said.
The defense presented a different version of events, arguing that Davis displayed a handgun after the two reached an area partially blocked from view. Defense attorney Lawerence Rosenberg said Henson tackled Davis in an attempt to disarm him and that the gun fired accidentally during the struggle.
But, during rebuttal, prosecutors argued that the shooting could have been avoided, telling jurors that if Henson had never gotten off the bus, Davis would still be alive.
Earlier in the day, the victim, who had sustained injuries during the shooting, invoked his Fifth Amendment right when questioned by the Judge Michael A. DiPietro. The court determined the witness would not testify before the jury.
Jury deliberations began Thursday afternoon.
