Acquitted: Ex-Marine Not Guilty of 2023 Non-Fatal Shooting

By Racquel Bazos - March 21, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

A 63-year-old Marine Corps veteran was cleared of all charges by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey M. Geller Wednesday after his attorney successfully argued he shot the victim in self-defense.

Antonio Fitzhugh was charged with first- and second-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime, reckless endangerment, having a loaded handgun on his person, having a handgun in a vehicle and firing a gun in Baltimore City in connection to the June 27, 2023, shooting outside his home on the 800 block of West Lanvale Street. 

In his closing argument, the prosecutor called Fitzhugh “the ‘Karen’ of the block,” for his continued concern about congregating drug users on his street where he was the last resident. According to the defendant’s testimony, his frequent calls to the Baltimore Police Department never yielded results to prevent loitering or littering in the area. 

When the victim was sharpening a hatchet on the steps of a vacant home next to Fitzhugh’s, Fitzhugh asked him to leave. Witness testimony corroborated Fitzhugh’s insistence that he was nothing but polite to the victim.

The witness, a friend of the victim’s, told the court the victim became irate and began threatening Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh testified the victim lunged at him with a six-inch buck knife, at which point Fitzhugh stumbled backwards before pulling out his registered firearm out of an appendix holster, worn inside the belt in front of the hip, and fired, hitting the victim in the shin.

“It’s a free country,” the prosecutor remarked. “[The victim] wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

Throughout the prosecution’s closing argument, Judge Geller corrected his recollections of the witness’ and defendant’s testimony. Nevertheless, the prosecutor said Fitzhugh’s claim of self-defense was “a cover story” and that the victim never lunged at him.

Instead, he argued Fitzhugh shot the victim when he invited Fitzhugh to fight in the middle of the street. The prosecutor went on to interpret the location of the single recovered shell casing and the length of the blood trail to support his theory. 

Defense attorney Martin Cohen pointed out the prosecution did not produce experts to speak to those facts during the trial and there was “nothing backing up” those assertions.

When Judge Geller returned with his verdict, he agreed the physical evidence could support either side’s story. But ultimately he found Fitzhugh a “highly credible witness.” Judge Geller was persuaded by the defense’s claim of complete self-defense and found Fitzhugh not guilty of all charges.