Accused Shooter Begins Trial for Murder Outside Westside Pharmacy

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When gunshots rang out in the streets outside Baltimore City’s Westside Pharmacy in May 2021, a crowd of people ran from the scene while those who knew Ronald White rushed to his aid. The 40-year-old man was soon rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.

On Feb. 14, the suspected shooter, Craig Carter, and his defense counsel sat before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Ronald Silkworth and a 12-person jury who will decide the defendant’s fate. Carter, 34, is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, having a handgun in a vehicle, and firearm possession with a felony conviction.

The fatal shooting occurred outside Westside Pharmacy at the corner of W. Pratt and Harmison streets on May 17, 2021, the prosecutor told jurors. Prior to the shooting, video surveillance footage showed a white Honda Accord pull up to the scene and the suspect—later identified as Carter—get out of the front passenger’s seat.

“The video evidence shows that the shooter was Mr. Carter,” said the prosecutor, who noted that White was shot four times.

No one could identify the shooter to Baltimore Police, she continued; however, a water bottle was found at the scene and came back positive with Carter’s DNA. The prosecutor explained that the video footage would also show that the water bottle belonged to the defendant, who set it down on a ledge about 15 minutes before the shooting.

During his opening statement, defense attorney David Walsh-Little countered that the evidence presented to the jury, or lack thereof, would show that his client was not the shooter and that no murder weapon was recovered.

Walsh-Little said that White was also found with drugs and packaging material.

The trial proceeded Tuesday morning as the prosecutor played a 911 call from the day of the shooting.