Accused 6th Street Shooter Found Not Guilty of Attempted Murder

By Andrew Michaels , Alyssia Davis [former] - June 14, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

Defense counsel in the case of attempted homicide defendant Michael Simms questioned the reliability of the victim’s testimony at trial, saying the victim was under the influence of drugs and alcohol in the months leading up to his identification of the defendant.

On June 13, Donald Wright poked holes in the prosecution’s argument that Simms attempted to kill the 27-year-old victim on April 23, 2022, on the 4100 block of 6th Street.

The 19-year-olde defendant was found not guilty of all charges later that day, including attempted first and second-degree murder, armed robbery, robbery, first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, firearm use in a felony violent crime, discharging firearms, having a handgun on his person and having a loaded handgun on his person.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill presided over the trial.

Regarding the victim’s testimony, Wright reminded the jury that the victim could not remember any details of the shooter to provide Baltimore Police Department officers with a description. It was actually the detectives who helped convince the victim that Simms was the shooter.

Police violated procedures during the photo array process, Wright said. While rules state that the photo array must be presented by an officer who is not involved in the case, the defense attorney said, the detective who presented the photos had helped canvass the crime scene with the lead detective. Before the victim saw the photos, the detective also told the victim that the police had a suspect—another violation of procedures.

“This case is all about the identification procedure and the poor attempt to convince the victim about his decision,” the defense attorney said.

The prosecution’s presentation of pictures of 6th Street and a shell casing had little to no influence in identifying the suspect, he added, unlike DNA or fingerprint evidence that was absent. Wright agreed that a struggle occurred between the two men and that a gun was fired; however, there was no evidence suggesting Simms intended to shoot the victim.

It was the prosecution’s argument that Simms robbed the victim, who was looking to purchase marijuana. During the trial, the victim admitted he had a drug problem in his testimony, informing the court that he had consumed alcohol and smoked crack that night. Simms attempt to rob the victim was thwarted when the latter fought back as he tried to knock the gun away from his body.

The victim was shot once in his knee, the prosecutor said, and identified Simms as the shooter two months later.

“This is not a whodunit,” she told the jury. “We have a victim who said who did it. He picked the person right out of a phot array. … It is clear that this man sitting at the trial table committed this crime.”