49-year-old defendant Kevin Brown was sentenced after a bench trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry G. Williams on Nov. 4.
Brown was charged with attempted first-and-second degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and various firearm-related charges in connection to a shooting that occurred on the 2400 block of Garrett Avenue on Mar. 14.
Officers responded after report of a non-fatal shooting and located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Near the victim, two spent 9mm cartridge casings were recovered. The victim was hospitalized for surgery.
Charging documents stated that Brown was identified as the alleged shooter via surveillance footage obtained from a nearby liquor store. The video depicted Brown arriving on scene and walking towards a group of individuals. Brown appeared agitated with the victim and pulled out a gun. Members of the group attempted to de-escalate the situation and the victim returned to his vehicle.
However, surveillance footage showed the victim quickly approaching Brown from behind, causing a physical altercation with Brown shooting the victim in the thigh.
Alongside his defense attorney Jason Rodriguez, Brown opted for a bench trial before Judge Williams. Both counsels waived opening statements, however Rodriguez informed the judge that he was arguing on the grounds of self-defense.
The prosecution called their first and only witness; a Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) detective who interrogated Brown. The detective verified that nobody else at the incident was seen with a gun.
Further, he was shown footage of the interview in which Brown positively identified himself as the individual on the surveillance footage. He stated that it was “a crazy night” and did not know what was going on. He also verified that he had a firearm for protection.
In regard to the altercation, Brown told the detective that he wanted the victim to leave and was trying to protect himself. He also said he was scared and “didn’t want to shoot him, I wanted the situation to die down”.
During closing arguments, the prosecution stated that Brown immediately engaged in a heated conversation and aggressively approached the situation. The prosecutor claimed that although Brown may not have been the initial aggressor, he took out a firearm and pulled the trigger, escalating the incident with deadly force.
Further, the state’s attorney argued that there was no evidence of a firearm in the victim’s possession, nor did Brown seem to be acting in self-defense. She concluded that “clear assault occurred” and that the defendant had threatened the lives of the victim and others nearby.
However, the prosecution removed the attempted first-degree murder charge, given a lack of evidence.
In the defense counsel’s closing argument, he called this case an act of “perfect self-defense”. He argued that Brown put his hands behind his back at the initial altercation and the victim charged at his client, attempting to choke him from behind. Additionally, Rodriguez contended that the victim repeatedly attempted to grab the gun during the physical fight.
Rodriguez claimed the initial argument to be “preliminary self-defense”, in which the defendant showed that he had a gun and told the victim to leave, without pointing the firearm. He debated that “any reasonable person would leave after seeing the gun” and that it was clear that the victim wasn’t in any actual fear if he returned to the scene knowing that Brown had a gun.
During rebuttal, the prosecution argued that the defendant did have a right to match the initial aggression, but chose to escalate it by discharging his firearm. Further, she stated that Brown approached “intending to create fear in [the victim]”.
Ultimately, Judge Williams convicted Brown on all charges except attempted second-degree murder. The sentence will run for an aggregate of 15 years.
