Argument Over Dice Game Ended with Fatal Shooting, Prosecutor Says

By Andrew Michaels - May 16, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

It was a heated argument over a dice game that ended with the death of 45-year-old John Wilford Jr. on Oct. 30, 2021.

On May 16, Wilford’s accused killer, 38-year-old Derrick Creek, stood trial for murder and weapons charges before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul Alpert.

According to the prosecution, Creek, Wilford, and another man were shooting dice when the defendant and the victim got into an argument on the 1000 block of Hillman Street at East Chase Street. The other man walked the victim away from the area, the prosecutor said, but Creek followed and the argument ensued.

“This time, it ended up deadly,” the prosecutor said, telling jurors that Wilford was shot once in the head.

Although Baltimore Police later learned that Wilford had a gun in his possession, “that gun wasn’t fired. That gun wasn’t wielded,” he concluded.

Defense attorney Lawrence Rosenberg described another possibility of what happened at the time of the shooting, specifically, that it was the other man who accidentally shot Wilford, who was his friend. When the man initially walked Wilford away from the argument, the victim was angry, Rosenberg explained. It was at this time that the two men walked over to the victim’s minivan to retrieve a gun.

The victim’s gun was later found inside a nearby planter, where Rosenberg said the other man placed it after the shooting.

“There will not be one shred of evidence to show that Derrick Creek was even in the area at that time on that day,” the defense attorney said.

The prosecution proceeded with the trial by playing a 911 call from the incident.