Acquitted: Acquaintance of Alleged Murderer Saw Defendant Pull Gun on Victim Before Shooting

By Andrew Michaels - September 24, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Editor’s note: The defendant was acquitted of charges in this case.

The ex-girlfriend of a man killed in a shooting in 2019 revealed that she saw the defendant pull a gun on her ex-boyfriend seconds before the shooting during video testimony before the jury on Sept. 23.

Terrell Parker is charged with first-degree murder, illegal possession of a firearm, attempt to kill, first-degree assault, and firearm use in a violent crime in connection to a shooting that killed 28-year-old Ray Parker and injured a 20-year-old woman.

The prosecution played a recording of Ray’s ex-girlfriend’s testimony from a court proceeding in November 2019. Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. informed the jury that the witness was not available to provide live testimony in the current trial for unspecified reasons but that her past testimony was admissible.

In the video, Ray’s ex-girlfriend testified that she went to school with the defendant’s girlfriend and saw her and Terrell the night of the incident. The three first met at the couple’s house before leaving to go to a liquor store and then get pizza.

The ex-girlfriend said the group ran into Ray, and she and the victim began arguing while walking up the road. The defendant then allegedly approached the victim and argued before pulling out a gun. During her video testimony, Ray’s ex-girlfriend said she ran away and hid behind a car when Terrell pulled out the gun. She said she heard gunfire and saw her ex-boyfriend fall to the ground.

A crime lab technician with the Baltimore Police Department testified earlier Thursday afternoon, explaining that she arrived at the crime scene on the 1500 block of Cliftview Avenue around 9:50 p.m., nearly a hour after the shooting. After speaking with police, the technician said she and officers walked through the crime scene before she proceeded to take photographs of both the crime scene and any potential evidence.

No victims were present, she said, but evidence included a black jacket, a revolver wrapped in black gloves, and suspected blood. The revolver contained four live rounds and one cartridge.

During questioning from defense attorney Donald Wright, the technician said she was working alongside another technician and that they found the revolver inside the black gloves about 40 minutes after their arrival. No bullets or bullet fragments were found at the scene; however, one fingerprint was found on one live round in the revolver after black powder testing.

Nothing was recovered from the cartridge, she said.

“There have been reports of problems with the Baltimore Police Department lab,” Wright said, but he did not elaborate.

A Baltimore detective was the next to testify, having been a 23-year veteran with the homicide unit. Although he was off duty the night of the shooting, the detective said he led the search and seizure warrant execution at the defendant’s home on the 1600 block of Cliftview Avenue.

Prior to the prosecution playing the detective’s body camera footage, Judge Taylor informed the jury that while the detective and defendant’s statements made on camera were admissible in court, statements from other individuals must be excluded from their decision-making process.

In the video, Terrell was heard saying he “didn’t do this” and “it doesn’t add up.” The defendant was not under arrest at the time the footage was recorded.

Wright’s cross-examination of the detective revealed that the defendant and his girlfriend were living together at the time of the incident. The detective said he never interviewed the female victim, who was shot in the stomach, nor were any other potential witnesses other than the ex-girlfriend interviewed. Ray’s ex-girlfriend was interviewed approximately three times over the course of the investigation, and a photo array was completed during her first interview.

The detective added that when he interviewed Ray’s ex-girlfriend, she said she didn’t know the defendant but later testified that she met him through his girlfriend.

Wright noted that approximately 40 minutes of the detective’s interview with Parker’s ex-girlfriend wasn’t recorded.

“I don’t know if the video was turned off or not,” the detective replied, adding that he didn’t know who completed the photo array.

The detective informed Wright that he didn’t recall a lot of information from the case as he did not bring the case file to court. Wright acknowledge that the detective only discussed his testimony with the prosecution regarding the search and seizure warrant—not the interview with Ray’s ex-girlfriend—prior to the detective’s testimony on Thursday.

During Terrell’s arrest, the detective said the defendant was not advised of his Miranda rights, because police are only required to do so if they are asking questions, which they did not.

Before stepping down, Judge Taylor notified the detective that he may be subjected to testify once again if necessary.

After Thursday’s testimony, Judge Taylor said the trial would proceed on Sept. 27.