Parties Differ on Red Pick Up Truck Evidence in Homicide Case

By Sara Palmer [former] - March 15, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects |

Counsel delivered closing arguments in the retrial of homicide defendant Preston Feaster before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John A. Howard on March 13.

Feaster, 34, is accused of shooting and killing 29 year-old Andrew Smith on June 2, 2022, on the 4200 block of Saint George’s Road.

He’s charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, having a handgun on his person. The jury in the 2023 trial found Feaster guilty of two counts of illegal possession of a regulated firearm and possession of a rifle or shotgun with a mental disability on Oct. 16, 2023.  

The prosecution told the jury circumstantial and physical evidence pointed to Feaster’s guilt as he was jealous of Smith’s relationship with his former spouse with whom he shared a child.

Feaster allegedly stalked the couple for a year and openly discussed his anger about their relationship with his former spouse’s uncle, who was friends with both men.

According to the prosecution, on the day of the crime, a 911 caller reported the  shooting. The caller said the shooter was in a red pickup truck that drove off suddenly after shooting Smith, who was in his own vehicle. 

Circumstantial evidence linked Feaster to the crime as he drove a red pickup truck that he sold one week after the murder. Additionally, his cell phone was allegedly tracked to the crime scene at the time of the murder. License plate readers also tracked a red pickup leaving the crime scene and returning to Feaster’s home. 

Baltimore Police Department investigators found firearm evidence scattered throughout Feaster’s home,  parts of the gun he allegedly used to commit the crime. When taken in for questioning, Feaster denied owning a red pickup truck or guns. 

Feaster turned his seat to face the jury when his defense attorney Brandon Mead addressed the panel.

Mead countered the prosecution’s evidence by saying that it wasn’t strong enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Feaster committed the crime. 

Mead reminded the jury that Feaster’s former partner had testified that the two men “had no beef” and had spoken once over the course of a year. He said Feaster would have no way of knowing where Smith parked his car to wait for him to arrive and shoot him. 

The 911 caller who reported the shooting later recanted the statement that it was the driver of the red pickup who shot Smith, saying they weren’t sure. Surveillance camera footage also showed another car behind the red pickup leaving the scene of the crime. Mead suggested the shooter might have been driving that car instead. 

Part of the firearm evidence was also found in Feaster’s brother’s room, who refused to testify. 

The case is set for jury deliberations.