Featured Archives - Page 4 of 6

May’s Felony Backlog Sees Largest Decline This Year

Details The Baltimore City Circuit Court felony backlog decreased nearly 10 percent from April’s 1,496 cases to May’s 1,351 cases. In addition to the decline in the felony backlog, the misdemeanor... Read More

Shootings Increase by More than 50% in First Half of May

Details From May 1 to May 16, Baltimore Witness has recorded approximately 34 non-fatal shootings, surpassing the 22 non-fatal shootings recorded in April. Compared to the previous six months, shootings, although... Read More

24 Plea Decisions Made During first Half of May

Details During the first half of May, Baltimore Witness has recorded decisions on 24 plea agreements. According to the data, four defendants accepted the prosecution’s agreements for murder charges and 10... Read More

6 Mass Shootings So Far Across Baltimore City in May

Details The number of homicides and non-fatal shootings in Baltimore continued to climb during the first two weeks of May with six mass shootings. Four people were killed in the mass... Read More

Jury Finds Homicide Defendant Guilty of Manslaughter

Details A jury came to a verdict on April 25, finding 29-year-old Marquis Dixon guilty of manslaughter and two counts of possession of a firearm with a felony conviction before Baltimore... Read More

South Baltimore Sees 6 Times as Many Homicides in April Than March

Details The southern district of Baltimore City saw nearly six times as many homicides in April than March, with homicides increasing in four of the city’s nine districts. The leap from... Read More

Non-fatal Shootings Decline while Homicides Rise in April

By Baltimore Witness staff - May 3, 2022
Data | Featured |

Details The number of homicides in Baltimore City steadily increased from January through March only to decline in April. Read More

Trajectory of Homicides and Non-Fatal Shootings in Baltimore City

By Baltimore Witness staff - May 3, 2022
Data | Featured |

Details Baltimore City has seen nearly twice as many non-fatal shootings as homicides over the past four months. As of May 1, Baltimore Witness reported a total of 214 non-fatal shooting... Read More

Jury Returns Not Guilty Verdict for 21-Year-Old Defendant Accused of Attempted Murder

Details After less than one day of deliberating, jurors entered a not guilty verdict on several different crimes for a non-fatal shooting defendant before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Philip S.... Read More

Jury Finds Man Accused of Murdering 2-Month-Old Baby Not Guilty on All Charges

Details A man accused of murdering a 2-month old baby girl has been found not guilty on all counts before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Daniels. Darius Williams, 34, was... Read More

Backlog Declines with 18 Jury Trials Since March 7

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court’s backlog of felony cases decreased by nearly 5 percent between March 1 and April 15. However, the backlog of cases remains slightly higher than the count... Read More

More Than Half of Homicide Victims Are in Their 20s

Details Nearly half of the deaths reported in Baltimore City from April 1 to April 14 included victims that we in their 20s, according to Baltimore Witness data. Read More

Where Are Homicides and Non-fatal Shootings Happening?

Details Baltimore Witness broke down non-fatal shootings and homicides over the past five and a half months by neighborhood, the majority of which occurred in the Western District. Read More

Nearly Half of April Deaths Reported as Homicides

Details During the first half of April, Baltimore city experienced 15 homicides and 16 non-fatal shootings. Six of those homicides took place in the southern district, while non-fatal shootings were concentrated... Read More

Timeline of March Homicide Arrests

Details Explore this timeline that follows a chronology of the 18 homicides and non-fatal shooting arrests, including location, made by the Baltimore Police Department in March. Bersabel Ephraim contributed to this data update. Read More

Homicide Trajectory: 2021 vs 2022

Details Baltimore City’s homicide count between Jan. 1 and March 30, 2022, exceeded last year’s homicide count over the same period, having seen a steady increase since Jan. 9. Baltimore Witness data... Read More

Plea Agreements at the Forefront as Jury Trials Resume

Details After a two-month hiatus in early 2022, Baltimore City Circuit Court resumed jury trials on March 7, with 12 homicide and non-fatal shooting trials scheduled throughout the week. Yet, only... Read More

Court’s Felony Backlog Cases Increase in February

Details Baltimore City Circuit Court’s backlog of felony cases increased for the first time in six months following a two-month hiatus in jury trials that began at the end of 2021.... Read More

Baltimore City Sees Lowest Monthly Homicide Count in 9 Months

Details Baltimore’s monthly homicide count dropped to a low of 21 in February 2022, the city’s lowest recorded homicide count in the past nine months. November and December 2021 originally held... Read More

Return to Justice: Courthouse Structure Limits Tech Advancement

By Andrew Michaels , Mackenzie Wright [former], Gabriella Salas [former], Brooke Uzzell [former] - March 3, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Featured |

Details The COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly fast-tracked Baltimore City Circuit Court’s implementation of more video and audio technology. Yet, despite this imposed advancement, some defense attorneys aren’t convinced the age-old courthouse buildings... Read More

Nearly 78 Percent of Accepted Plea Agreements Involved Non-Fatal Shootings, Data Shows

Details Baltimore Witness data has accounted for approximately 68 accepted plea agreements from June 14, 2021, to Jan. 25, 2022, for non-fatal shootings or homicides. Of the 68 plea agreements, nearly... Read More

Homicides Increase in New Year

Details The Baltimore City homicide count increased by 31 percent between December 2021 and January 2022, rising from 26 to 34 homicides, according to Baltimore Witness data. The Baltimore Police Department... Read More

Baltimore City Circuit Court Halts Jury Trials Amid COVID Surge

Details Former Baltimore prosecutor turned defense attorney Roya Hanna said she had three criminal jury trials set between the first of the year and early February. Little did she know that... Read More

Jury Finds Keith Smith Guilty of Killing His Wife

Details A jury has found Keith Smith guilty of fatally stabbing his wife, Jacquelyn Smith, and blaming panhandlers in December 2018 after less than two days of deliberations. Originally scheduled as... Read More