Closing arguments were presented on Oct 13 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia H Jones in murder trial of 43-year-old defendant James Hammond.
Hammond is charged with two counts of first- degree murder, reckless endangerment, loaded handgun on person and firearm use in a felony or violent crime tied to the death of Deon Beasley, 39.
Charging documents state that Hammond and Lakeem Whitaker 29. conspired with two other individuals to attack the victim at a barbershop on the 1800 block of Washington Boulevard.
Those co-defendants, Jarvis Joyner, 35, and Terrill Barfield, 40, were picked up in a Honda Odyssey minivan as they circled the vicinity of the shop looking to pick up Hammond and Whittaker who fled the scene. Both were found guilty of first-degree murder for their involvement in the homicide.
According to court documents, a DNA analyst tested clothing recovered from a trash bin similar to what the suspect was wearing in surveillance video and the samples were linked with a high probability to Hammond.
Additional footage played during witness testimony showed two masked individuals purported to be the co-defendants, exiting a Honda Odyssey and walking directly to the barbershop where they shot Beasley, who would later succumb to his injuries at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. During closing arguments, defense attorney Gabrielle Michel stressed to the jury there were no phone messages from Whitaker which tied the defendant to any crime.
She also noted there were several other DNA samples besides Whitaker’s in the suspect’s clothing. Moreover, she told the jury that no witness at the scene named the defendant as a potential suspect.
The prosecution reiterated to the jury that the defendant’s DNA is what’s called a majority contributor to the pool. Additionally, he said that the defendant was spotted within a minute’s walking distance from the shooting after the shot rang out. He concluded that the defendant admitted to being in a group chat where plotters planned the shooting going under the name Jizel.
The jury is deliberating the case.
