Self-defense was at the center of closing arguments on Sept. 15 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Hope Tipton, in the murder trial of 25-year-old Jermaine Reed, who is accused of killing his uncle, 43-year-old Dwaun Hawkins.
Reed is charged with first-degree murder, along with several firearm charges for his alleged connection to the Dec. 18, 2025 murder.
According to charging documents, police responded to reports of gunfire on the 2400 block of Elsinore Avenue, where they found Hawkins on the living room floor suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Hawkins later died at a local hospital.
“All his belongings were packed up; why did he return to the house?” defense attorney William Porter asked during closing arguments.
The defense alleges that, according to autopsy reports, drugs such as oxycodone, methamphetamine, and MDMA, otherwise known as Molly, were found in Hawkins system, which may have contributed to his aggression towards Reed.
The defense maintained that the shooting was “justified self-defense” and asked jurors to find the defendant not guilty.
In rebuttal, the prosecution argued that the defendant never mentioned that Hawkins threatened him, only that Hawkins was acting “strange.”
The prosecutor also pointed to the differences between the defendant’s police statement and testimony in court, arguing that his word is not credible. Reed testified that he was afraid of Hawkins, but never mentioned that fear in his initial police statement.
Prosecutors asked the jury to find the defendant guilty on all counts.
Deliberations began Sept. 15.
