Attempted Murder Trial Abruptly Ends for Day After Victim Recants

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On July 12, a victim’s statement, delivered during the late hours of an attempted murder trial, derailed the prosecution’s case and led to a recess that ended court for the day before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John A. Howard.

Co-defendants Antwan Newton and Lasheena Stewart are charged with first-degree attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection to allegedly shooting a 13-year-old girl on Nov. 22, 2019, on the 700 block of East 20th Street.

“I didn’t see any faces,” said the victim, who is now 15 years old, when asked if she saw who shot and paralyzed her.

According to the victim, there was a school incident between her and a friend that escalated into a violent conflict between two large groups of people after the school day ended.

Initially, the victim believed she had seen Newton at the crime scene with a gun and was pretty sure that he was the person who shot her. She also said Stewart ordered Newton to shoot her.

The pair were arrested in December of 2019 and January of 2020 respectively, according to Stewert’s defense attorney Roya Hanna.

They were only found and arrested after being identified by the victim in a photo array while she was recovering from her injuries. The lead detective in the case testified there was no physical evidence like shell casings, fingerprints or DNA linking either defendant to the crime.

The detective also confirmed to the defense team that police had not investigated an anonymous tip about the incident, which the defense argued could have led police to a different suspect.

In addition, the detective said he didn’t feel the need to investigate the tip because the victim had already identified Newton in the photo array as the shooter.

However, during the prosecutor’s questioning, the victim told a different story, corroborating the defense’s narrative for Stewart, who was accused of ordering the shooting.

The victim said she had never seen the photo array implicating the defendants or the written statements identifying them, causing an audible murmur in the courtroom.

“That’s not my handwriting, my handwriting is neat,” the victim said.

The prosecutor and defense both declined to publicly comment on how the day ended, saying only that they’ll all be back tomorrow to continue the case.

Newton and Stewart’s trial is set to continue on July 13.

Editor’s note: A jury found Antwan Newton not guilty on July 14. Lasheena Stewart’s case was dismissed on July 14.

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