On Sept. 14, the fifth day of trial continued with witness testimony.
Jermaine Reed, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in the commission of a felony violent crime, firearm possession with prior felony conviction, and having a handgun on his person, for his alleged role in the murder of Dwaun “Dante” Hawkins, 43. The incident occurred on the 400 block of Elsinore Avenue. The trial was expected to last for four days, but entered its fifth day in front of Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Hope Tipton.
The defendant is accused of murdering his uncle on Dec. 18, 2025 after an alleged dispute regarding a break-up with the victim and his girlfriend, the defendant’s aunt, had escalated into violence. The victim was shot 10 times and the defendant was able to flee the city until he was arrested roughly a month later in Clayton County, Georgia.
The prosecutor began the fifth day of testimony with the victim’s sister, who spoke about the last night that she had seen her brother alive. She said her brother had been picked up from his ex-girlfriend’s address earlier in the evening, and that he followed her home soon afterward, bringing a safe inside with him.
He left the safe at her home and returned to his ex-girlfriend’s home, which was the last time that she saw her brother alive, she said. This safe contained a weapon that she said she had never seen her brother with or use.
During cross-examination, defense counsel William Porter had the witness affirm that she was picking up the victim at his ex-girlfriend’s home because they were breaking up, and that she could not confirm the amount of weapons that her brother had owned.
A crime scene analyst, who worked on the scene, also testified about the eight different pieces of evidence that was recovered. According to the analyst, much of the evidence was unable to be forensically verified because the suspected murder weapon was not recovered.
The trial is expected to continue on Sept. 15.
