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By
Alyssia Davis [former]
- January 10, 2023
Attempted Murder
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Court
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Daily Stories
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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On Jan. 9, the jury trial for two attempted murder co-defendants began with opening statements before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Patrick Stringer.
According to the prosecutor, the victim was “minding her own business” in the early morning of Aug. 8, 2021, when defendants Tony Foster and Jamel Phillips spotted her and decided to “take what didn’t belong to them.”
In her opening statement, the prosecutor said the defendants pulled up in a red Acura Sedan when Foster allegedly hopped out of the car to snatch the victim’s purse. In the midst of the tussle, Foster allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the victim.
Foster, 27, and Phillips, 24, are both charged with attempted first and second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, theft less than $100, conspiracy to commit theft less than $100, the use of a firearm during a felony violent crime, conspiracy to commit the use of a firearm during a felony violent crime, and two counts of having a handgun in a vehicle.
Over the span of the trial, the prosecutor told the jury there would be surveillance footage showing the defendants arriving and leaving the Horseshoe Casino prior to robbing and assaulting the victim, as well as a still photo of the license plate that belonged to the car the defendants were driving the night of the incident.
In a counter-argument, Foster’s defense counsel Maureen Rowland said, “my client is presumed innocent. He is innocent.”
“If a gun was fired, you would find bullets. How would there be a gun if there are no bullets?” said Rowland, arguing that there was no proof the gun was fired.
Defense counsel Rowland asked the jurors to find Foster not guilty of all charges.
Phillips’ defense counsel Kenneth Man agreed with Rowland, noting that the prosecutor would fail to prove a crime was committed and that his client did it.
Foster and Phillips’ trial is set to continue Jan. 10.