Baltimore Man Found Guilty of Assault in Attempted Murder Trial

By Mackenzie Wright [former] - March 23, 2022
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

On a Monday morning, a jury delivered a verdict in an attempted homicide trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Anthony F. Vittoria. The trial lasted fortwo days.

Dominick Scarboro was charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, use of a firearm during a violent crime, handgun on person, handgun in vehicle, loaded handgun on a person, loaded handgun in a vehicle, telephone abuse, three counts of malicious destruction of property valued at $1000 or more, and discharging firearms in connection to an incident that occurred Sept. 10, 2020, in a house on the 6200 block of Chinquapin Parkway. 

Scarboro, 27, got into a physical altercation with one of the victims after being thrown out of the house late that evening. Scarboro was then alleged to have fired at least three shots into the home through the front door, grazing one victim’s head and hitting a second victim in the arm and flanks. A third victim was present but unharmed by the gunfire. 

Two victims testified that Scarboro had gotten aggressive after being asked to leave the home because he had brought a loaded revolver with him, which his girlfriend, at the time, believed was disrespectful to her parent’s home. Scarboro and the three victims had been at the residence for a short period of time after returning home following a birthday celebration in White Marsh, Md. 

The victims testified that Scarboro agreed to leave the property but came back a short time later when he engaged in a physical altercation with the third victim, who did not testify at the trial. The witnesses said that Scarboro was pushed to the ground outside of the house and the doors, a glass door and a regular wooden door, were closed just before he began shooting. 

Defense attorney, Paul Polanksy, argued that the attempted murder charges were unfounded as there was no evidence of premeditation or intent to kill by his client. 

Polansky also questioned the witnesses on alleged security footage from inside the home that was not given to the police. The witnesses said that they had not offered the footage to detectives, nor did the investigators attempt to retrieve it from them. 

After one full day of testimony, the defense attorney ended his arguments early March 18.

During closing statements, the prosecution argued that Scarboro had intended to kill his girlfriend and her parents that evening, saying that was enough for the jury to find him guilty of attempted murder, not just assault.

Polansky, on the other hand, said it was “absolutely ridiculous” to say Scarboro had the intent or premeditation to kill any of the people in the home, and that no reasonable person would expect someone to die after firing into two doors without aiming.  

Jury deliberations began shortly after closing arguments. The jury had not reached a verdict by the end of the day on Friday. 

The jury returned to deliberations Monday morning and reached a verdict at 10:45 A.M. after nearly seven hours of deliberation. 

The jury found Dominick Scarboro guilty of two counts of first degree-assault, second-degree assault, and the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. The jury found Scarboro not guilty on all charges of attempted first and second-degree murder. 

Scarboro’s sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 9, pending a pre-sentencing investigation to be completed in the next 30 days.