Defendant Engaged in “Crime Spree,” Prosecutor Says

By Braden Hamelin [former] - August 11, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Home Page | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A jury began hearing evidence this week on Aug. 8 detailing a series of armed robberies, carjackings, and two homicides in a case featuring three co-defendants who were arrested in Baltimore County in November 2019. 

Kiray Walker, 21, Malik Brooks, 22, and Devon Bynum, 19, are accused of shooting and killing Courtney Richardson and Aryanna James on the 1900 block of McHenry Street as part of a crime spree that included robbing several people at gunpoint and stealing two cars between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2019. 

Walker’s trial is the first of the three to go before a jury, with the other two trials scheduled to immediately follow.  

This incident initially began with a carjacking and ended with a robbery. The night included multiple crimes committed between them, the prosecutor said in his opening statement on Aug. 8. 

He told the jury that Walker was arrested in Baltimore County and the murder case wasn’t initially being investigated in connection to the robberies and carjackings, but a recorded statement revealed incriminating information about the murder. 

The prosecutor also said detectives got a ballistics hit on the gun Walker and his co-defendants’ were arrested with, which matched to the murder weapon. 

Walker’s defense attorney, Catherine Flynn, said her client has maintained his innocence since 2019, and he has been waiting over two years, through the coronavirus shutdowns, to have his case heard in front of a jury. 

The prosecution’s case began by showing several bodycam videos from first responders and digging into the forensics of where the detective discovered James’s body. Police also collected nine shell casings, shattered glass and blood. 

Video also showed Richardson being treated and transported to Shock Trauma, where he later died. 

On Aug. 9, the prosecutor keyed in on the robbery and carjacking element of the night, producing several victims that all said they were robbed by three men wearing masks with at least two guns at varying locations from South Baltimore to Lansdowne. 

The jurors watched several security camera feeds showing the murders and the preparation. The footage showed three people in what appeared to be one of the stolen cars parking and exiting into an alley, where they emerged and shot the victims. 

However, none of the victims were able to get a positive identification on any of the suspects because of their masks, but the defendants were arrested in clothes matching video footage from the shooting, according to charging documents. 

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta A. Brown presided over the hearing.

The trial is slated to continue on Aug. 11.