Court Archives - Baltimore Witness

Defense Claims Lead Detective Had ‘Blinders On’ In 2024 Homicide Investigation

Details Defense attorney Martin Cohen argued that the lead Baltimore Police detective approached investigations with “blinders on” and a bias against defendant Damion Thomas, 45, while investigating his alleged involvement in... Read More

Jury Trial Begins for Alleged S. Paca Street Killer

Details The murder trial of Damion Thomas, 45, continued on July 1 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Michael A. DiPietro, with six witnesses from the prosecution taking the stand to... Read More

Questions of Self-Defense Arise in Assault Trial’s Closing Statements

Details The jury heard contradicting closing statements in the assault trial of Dwayne Frazier before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Troy K. Hill on July 1. Frazier, 48, is charged with... Read More

Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery After Unsuccessfully Claiming Ineffective Counsel

Details After a back-and-forth with the court, Dewan Houshins, 26, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and felony firearm use, receiving a combined sentence of 15 years plus five years supervised probation from... Read More

Evidence Puts Defendant at Crime Scene in Leverton Avenue Murder, Prosecution Says

Details As the homicide trial of Melvin Garcercis Tucker came to a close on June 30, the prosecution focused on video footage, license plate readers and a motive that they said... Read More

Judge Demands ADA Compliancy for Wheelchair-Bound Defendant Following Transport Delay

Details Attempted murder defendant Arnold Jackson, 54, received an August trial date before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on July 1. The scheduling hearing came a day after... Read More

Double Homicide Case Ends in Mistrial, Slated to Return for Motion’s Hearing in September

Details A mistrial was declared in the double homicide trial of Khaleb Edmonds on June 24 after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Following a day of deliberations, a... Read More

Attempted Murder Defendant Set for September Trial

Details Tony Harper, a 35-year-old previously convicted felon, is set to stand trial on Sept. 5 for illegal firearm possession following a 2024 incident in Baltimore. Read More

Defendant Receives Home Detention After Pleading Guilty to Shooting Outside Everyman Theatre

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John A. Howard granted defendant Quan Daishawn Jones, 28, home detention on June 30 after Jones pleaded guilty to having a handgun on his person. ... Read More

Trial Postponed for West Caton Street Shooting Suspect

Details On June 30, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Yvette M. Bryant overheard a defense motion for postponement in the case of 42-year-old Marcus Lilly. Lilly is charged with three counts... Read More

‘Under No Circumstances’ Will Judge Postpone Homicide Case After Failure to Transport Defendant to Court

Details Arnold Jackson, 54, failed to appear before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on June 30 after counsel failed to notify the court he was hospitalized and required... Read More

Franklin Square Murder Suspect to be Tried in September

Details A Baltimore man accused of a fatal shooting in June 2023 rejected a plea offer and received a jury trial date from Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland... Read More

Four-Day Trial Set for Baltimore Man Accused of Murder

Details Murder suspect Andrew Curry, 24, appeared in Baltimore City Circuit Court on June 30, where a four-day trial was scheduled for November in connection to the 2023 shooting death of Desmond Green. Read More

Defendant Unknowingly Shoots at Undercover Police Vehicle

Details At the start of 48-year-old Dwayne Frazier‘s trial on June 30, the prosecution told jurors that the defendant shot at a car he believed was following him only to learn... Read More

Jury Finds Man Guilty of Stabbing College Student at East Baltimore Medical Center in 2024

Details A jury has found 36-year-old Bryan Cherry guilty of attempted first-degree murder in connection to a stabbing at East Baltimore Medical Center last year. Following a trial before Baltimore City... Read More

Trial Set For Clay Street Shooter

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland set an October trial date for 21-year-old Antonio Louis Mackey on June 27. Mackey is charged with attempted first and second-degree murder,... Read More

Trial Set for Suspect in Decade-Old Double Homicide

Details Scott Barnett, 45, appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Copeland on June 27 to set a date for the trial of a double homicide from 2014. Barnett is... Read More

Triple Shooting Case Slated for Trial in August

Details Two co-defendants in a fatal January triple shooting appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on June 27 to receive a date for trial. Tavon Singleton, 34,... Read More

Forty-Eight Percent of June’s Homicide, Non-Fatal Shooting Cases Resolved Before Trial

Details Nearly half of all homicide and non-fatal shooting cases scheduled for trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court so far this month were resolved before moving forward, according to the latest... Read More

October Trial Set for Suspect in 2023 Downtown Shooting

By Sage Cho - June 26, 2025
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting |

Details Parties reached an agreement on an October trial date for attempted murder defendant Jesse Freels, 24, before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on June 25. Freels, who... Read More

Attorneys Debate Face Marking in Non-Fatal Shooting

By Ethan Russo - June 26, 2025
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting |

Details Counsel delivered closing statements on June 26 in the attempted murder of a victim on the 500 block of N. Curley Street on May 6, 2024. Christopher Boykin, 26, is... Read More

Drug Trafficking Trial Postponed to August

By Riley Mathews - June 26, 2025
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland postponed the non-fatal shooting, drug trafficking case of K’Hova Barfield on June 26. Defense attorney James Sweeting III took on Barfield’s case... Read More

Oakley Avenue Murder Suspect Receives November Trial Date

Details Following a June 13 postponement in his case due to the unavailability of various key witnesses, murder defendant Zion James Clayton, 25, received a Nov. 13 trial date before Baltimore... Read More

Shooting Defendant Accepts Plea Deal

Details Carlos Freeman, 43, accepted an agreement on June 25 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Levi S. Zaslow, pleading guilty to first-degree assault and use of a firearm in the... Read More