Argument Over Woman Turned Deadly in 2021 Reisterstown Road Shooting, Prosecutor Says

By Andrew Michaels - September 22, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Five months after his mistrial, defendant Byron Erin Lewis sat at defense counsel’s table on Sept. 21, once again, facing charges for the murder of 32-year-old Shammarh Jenkins on a summer evening in June 2021.

A hung jury in April led to a mistrial in the 41-year-old homicide defendant’s case, where he is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony or violent crime, having a handgun on his person and two counts of firearm possession with a felony conviction.

During his opening statement on Thursday morning, defense attorney James Sweeting III—who represented Lewis at his last trial—kept with his original argument that the defendant acted in self-defense. Sweeting told jurors that the prosecution does not have enough evidence to prove Lewis’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The incident on June 12, 2021, occurred on the 2200 block of Reisterstown Road, where Jenkins had set up a card table to sell some food and drinks. An altercation ensued between Lewis and Jenkins, leading to a struggle over a handgun that belonged to the victim.

According to Sweeting, the gun discharged when Lewis had “partial control of the weapon.” Soon after, a 911 call was placed at 9:01 p.m. followed by another 911 call seven to eight minutes later. However, while the street was occupied with other people, the defense attorney explained that nobody did anything when the shooting occurred.

“Unfortunately, when [Jenkins] was shot, people didn’t rush to his aid,” Sweeting said. “They took advantage of his store.”

Defense counsel said his client’s initial statement to the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) was not truthful, but that Lewis “came around” to telling the truth, continuing to do so when he testified during his previous jury trial.

“You’re gonna have to discern that truth,” Sweeting implored.

The prosecutor admitted the defendant “has an answer for everything, but most of those answers aren’t true.” The argument between Lewis and Jenkins was over a woman, she said.

She told jurors they will see video surveillance footage from a nearby business and a residential video doorbell showing someone approach Jenkins and then run away, although the actual shooting was not on camera. Lewis was also identified as the passenger of a suspected vehicle located at the crime scene at the time of the shooting.

The defendant’s trial proceeded with testimony before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence R. Daniels on Thursday and is expected to continue on Sept. 22.