A Southwest District mass shooting trial continued on Feb. 18 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays with testimony from a ballistics examiner, who identified a Glock 19 used in the homicide apparently the same weapon used in three other crimes that followed the arrest of 19-year-old defendant Daaon Spears.
Spears was arrested on Jan. 15, 2023, 11 days after a mass shooting at a fast food restaurant. The handgun was recovered nearly a year later on Dec. 5, 2023, during the arrest of another individual.
Spears faces 31 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and five of attempted first-degree murder, for his alleged role in the shooting, which killed one individual and injured four others. Spears previously stood trial for murder in October 2023, but the case ended with a mistrial. His co-defendant, 19-year-old Bryan Johnson, faces a 30-charge indictment and is awaiting trial.
According to charging documents, at approximately 11 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2023, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officerswere dispatched to a Popeyes restaurant located on the 4400 block of Edmondson Avenue, in the Edmondson Village Shopping Center. Outside the restaurant, officers located five victims on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds.
16-year-old Deanta Dorsey was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he succumbed to injuries a short while later. The four other victims, all of whom were teenagers, received treatment at an area hospital.
At trial, the ballistics expert went on to testify that based on the bullets, casings, fragments and live ammunition collected from the scene, it was likely that a minimum of three firearms were used in the crime, including a Glock 19.
In the prosecution’s re-direct, the expert explained that casings found on a scene may have been “artifacts,” or remnants of past incidents. She added that the criteria for determining artifacts involves the detection of oxidation, or the aging process, on the casings. Two casings that were entered into evidence displayed the changes, and were therefore unlikely to prove relevant to the present case.
Based on these findings, it was possible that only two guns, rather than three, were used in the crime.
Testimony is set to resume on Monday, Feb. 23.
