Lack of Police Investigation in 3-Old Homicide Case, Defense Says

By Andrew Michaels - November 16, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Defense counsel for a Baltimore man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend’s cousin alluded to the lack of investigation from the Baltimore Police Department on the final day of trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

The prosecution called its final witness, a homicide detective, on Nov. 15 to discuss the case of 24-year-old Jimmy Gerold McRavin who is charged with the murder of James Thompson on Oct. 12, 2019. As a four-year veteran with the police department’s homicide unit, the detective said he arrived on the 200 block of South Herring Court just before 1:40 p.m. alongside a sergeant and another detective.

The officers were notified of “a serious shooting” and saw blood, clothing soaked in blood, shell casings, a pocket knife, and a cell phone outside McRavin’s mother’s home where the shooting occurred. The detective testified that Thompson’s body had been removed from the area and that about 10 officers were already at the scene when he and his colleagues arrived.

In addition to getting statements from McRavin’s mother and her neighbor, who testified last week, the detective confirmed with the prosecutor that he returned to South Herring Court at a later date in an attempt to question another witness but was unsuccessful. The potential witness declined to talk with police, he said.

During her cross-examination, defense attorney Julie Shapiro specified that the detective didn’t contact McRavin’s mother’s neighbor until nearly a month after the shooting. The neighbor had also informed police of another potential witness who lived across the street from her, Shapiro said, but that the detective never interviewed him.

Shapiro also confirmed with the detective that the blood and pocket knife found at the scene were not tested and records from the cell phone could not be accessed as it was password protected.

Later in the afternoon, Shapiro recalled McRavin’s mother to the stand, who said, once again, that she heard a phone conversation between the defendant’s girlfriend and her cousin. The mother also said the gun that she gave her son previously belonged to her husband who died a few months prior.

The mother reiterated her testimony from last week that she tried to get her son’s girlfriend to leave the home. About 10 minutes later, the mother said, she saw Thompson outside approaching her front porch and reaching behind his back for what appeared to be a gun with a silver and black handle.

In closing arguments, the prosecutor re-informed the jury that the defendant’s mother gave him the gun at least an hour before Thompson came to the home, indicating that the murder was premeditated. She also noted that McRavin demonstrated violence toward his girlfriend, showing the jury three photos of her facial injuries.

“Mr. McRavin armed himself and had a gun in his pocket for an hour,” the prosecutor said. “Mr. Thompson may have just been coming up to take [McRavin’s girlfriend] away. Mr. Thompson didn’t have a chance.”

The prosecutor closed by adding that Thompson was shot in his back.

“It tells you he turned away,” she said.

Shapiro’s closing arguments reminded the jury that McRavin’s girlfriend was not telling the truth in her testimony, specifically negating her claims that she didn’t call her cousin in the first place. This was reiterated by testimony from the defendant’s mother as well as her neighbor, she added.

The jury began deliberations on Nov. 16.