Defendant Faces Trial for 2023 Shooting and Murder

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A murder defendant went before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong for the opening statements of his trial July 10.

Jared Ford, 23, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of firearm use in a felony violent crime, having a loaded handgun in a vehicle, having a loaded handgun on his person, firearm possession with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a regulated firearm , attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

In opening statements, the prosecutor said that on Feb. 26, 2023, three shooters stopped on the 5500 block of Bowleys Lane in the Sinclair Gates apartment complex, where they allegedly ran across a field and proceeded to shoot at three people. One of them, Mason Kelly, 23, was killed, while the other two were shot in the leg. The shooters then ran back across the field to their car.

Baltimore Police Department (BPD) detectives responded to the scene, where they located camera footage of part of the incident. The footage showed the suspects’ cars. The detectives were able to put a tracker on one of the cars.

Another shooting happened on March 2, 2023, where a man was shot in the leg and survived. Two days later, on March 4, 2023, the car the detectives were monitoring started moving. On the footage, the defendant is seen getting out of the front passenger seat of the car under a bridge. Footage shows him getting rid of a gun, the prosecutor said. Detectives later recovered the gun near a fence.

A firearms analysis confirmed that shell casings found at the scene from Feb. 26, 2023, came from the weapon and that the weapon was likely used in both the February and March shootings.

Defense attorney Roya Hanna’s opening statements focused on an eyewitness’ testimony and the prosecution’s lack of DNA evidence.

Hanna said a witness had given a description of who he believed the shooter was, but detectives dismissed it.

Ford also told the police that he had nothing to do with the shooting, Hanna said, adding that there was no DNA evidence connecting the defendant to the crime scenes.

Trial is expected to continue on July 11.