20-Year-Old Homicide Defendant Acquitted of 2020 Murder

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Rickie Louis Young was acquitted of all charges on Dec. 2 for the murder of 26-year-old Sharif Stewart in an alleged shooting.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry G. Williams presided, along with 12 jurors.

During the trial that began on Nov. 29, a southwest district patrol officer said he, alongside another officer, received a call from dispatch of a possible homicide and heard gunshots while on the phone. He noted that on arrival, he saw a man standing outside a black Honda Crosstour, while the other officer was helping another man, later identified as Stewart.

A homicide detective later testified that the other man in the car identified Stewart as the victim.

Prior to the shooting, Stewart and the other victim were in the car smoking marijuana. However, after about 30 minutes after parking the car, a group of four men who were wearing face masks walked past the car, making the driver feel suspicious. The victim also said he continued to watch the men through his side view mirror.

Having a sense of urgency, the victim notified Stewart, but while doing so, he heard gunshots. At that time, he only saw three out of the four men he saw previously.

“I didn’t think the shots were at us until the bullets hit my radio,” the victim testified.

In addition, the victim stated that he initially did not want to speak to the police about what happened, but he later chose to testify.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Amy Stone questioned the relationship between Stewart and the other victim, who noted that Stewart would sometimes stay with his mother as well as the victim and his family.

According to the crime lab technician, Stewart’s clothing and other personal effects were found at the scene along with ten shell casings and one bullet.

Tuesday’s portion of the trial ended with testimony from a detective who questioned Young two weeks after the shooting. The search and seizure warrant was at Young’s mother’s residence, where police found clothing that matched the defendant’s clothes from that night of the incident.

However, no firearms were found at the residence, said the detective.