Lead Detective, Victim Testify in Attempted Murder Trial

By Andrew Michaels - August 16, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Victims |

Testimony in an attempted murder trial kicked off on Aug. 13 from the first Baltimore Police Department detective to arrive at the scene of a 2019 shooting, followed by one of the victims.

James Phillips, a 20-year-old Baltimore resident, is charged with first and second-degree murder for allegedly shooting two brothers, then ages 18 and 20, on Nov. 11, 2019, outside Grocery Deli and Carry Out on the 3400 block of Belair Road.

Additional charges include first and second-degree assault, firearm use in a violent crime, and reckless endangerment as well as illegal possession of a firearm, minor in possession of a firearm, having a handgun on his person, carrying a handgun within 100 yards of a school, discharging a gun in the city, and illegal possession of ammunition.

Before the jury entered the courtroom on Friday, the prosecution issued a material witness motion for the younger brother, now 20, who was interviewed by police at the hospital the night of the shooting, and at a Baltimore Police station three days later.

The presiding judge, Judge M. Brooke Murdock, granted the prosecutor’s motion, stating she did not need defense attorney Jonathan Kerr’s opinion on the matter.

A second motion by the prosecution was also granted to push another detective’s testimony to the week of Aug. 16 due to a family emergency.

Shortly after the presentation of the jury, the lead detective, a 16-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, was called to the stand, where the prosecution questioned him on protocol for detectives when they arrive at a crime scene.

The detective said he searched for evidence and found the blood of the older brother, now 22, both at the entrance and right inside of the deli. He also found two .45 caliber shell casings, one outside on the ground and the other in the wall of the storefront.

This information was first presented to the jury during counsel’s opening statements on Aug. 12.

On Friday, the prosecution played four 911 calls from the night of the shooting and showed the detective and the jury footage and photo stills from three of the deli’s video surveillance cameras. Two of the cameras are located outside the deli and the other located inside the deli. While the two outdoor cameras viewed the entrance to the deli and the adjacent street, Brendan Avenue, the third camera showed the exit from inside the deli.

The detective said he was able to identify both victims as well as another man, who was not the defendant. All three men were seen both in and out of the deli and walking along Belair Road and Brendan Avenue.

Later that evening, the detective said, he performed a wellness check on both of the victims who were being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The detective said he spoke to the young brother at the hospital and once again at the Baltimore Police Department.

Neither victim directly identified Phillips as the shooter, he said.

During the investigation, the detective said, he also obtained a screenshot of a person of interest. The detective then sent an email of the screenshot around the Baltimore Police Department in an attempt to identify the individual, who another detective identified as Phillips.

The lead detective later obtained an arrest warrant for Phillips, who was arrested in December 2020.

The prosecutor ended her questioning by playing a brief snippet of one of Phillips’ jail calls during which he identified himself.

Kerr questioned the detective, who confirmed that there were possibly 15 to 20 people in the area at the time of the shooting; however, neither the detective nor other law enforcement conducted interviews. The detective said he did speak with the clerk working at the deli, but he had no notes of the interview.

The detective later told the prosecution that the clerk had no information except that the older brother ran inside the store after he was shot.

No requests were submitted to obtain DNA from the two shell casings, Kerr added, and no photo array was conducted by detectives.

The prosecution reiterated that the detective never conducted a photo array because the younger brother “said he wouldn’t be able to identify the suspect by face.” The detective also acknowledged that he never told the younger brother that Phillips was the person of interest.

On Friday afternoon, the prosecution called for the testimony of the younger brother, who said, “All I remember was walking to the store and leaving.” The prosecutor said both of the brothers were shot outside the deli’s entrance.

The younger brother told the jury that not only did he not see who shot him but that he did not talk to the lead detective after the shooting or at the hospital later that night. The prosecutor debunked the latter by playing a video of the detective interviewing the younger brother at the hospital.

The victim told the jury that he didn’t remember telling the detective what the shooter was wearing.

“I don’t remember, but if I did, I was under medication,” said the younger brother, referring to the pain medication he was administered at the hospital.

The video showed the victim telling the detective that the shooter was wearing a “red or peach” hoodie; however, on the stand, the victim reiterated that he didn’t know anything about the person of interest, including the person’s skin color, gender, height, or clothing.

The younger brother told the prosecution and Kerr that the pain medication he received at the hospital affected his memory during the hospital interview. He also said he was prescribed oxycodone when he was released from the hospital, which he was taking at the time of the interview at the police station, which also altered his state of mind.

However, the prosecutor said the younger brother told police, during his interview with the lead detective on Nov. 14 at the police station, that he had taken ibuprofen but it wasn’t altering his judgement.

“You’ve answered the questions truthfully and the best you can?” Kerr asked, following the prosecutor’s questioning. “Yes,” the victim replied.

Frustrated about having to go to the police station for an interview on Nov. 14, the younger brother told Kerr that the detectives were “pressuring me” to identify Phillips and that he “just wanted to answer questions and get out of there.”

The victim’s testimony concluded when the prosecutor showed footage from the interview at the police station, where the younger brother said the shooter had lighter skin and was wearing a peach-colored hoodie.

The trial is expected to continue on Aug. 16 in courtroom 400 in the Mitchell Courthouse.