Closing Arguments Entered as Jury Deliberation Begins for Homicide Co-Defendants

By Brooke Uzzell [former] - April 4, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Closing arguments comes to an end as jury deliberations began on April 1 for two homicide co-defendants on trial for the 2018 murder of 17-year-old Beontray Ellis before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Philip S. Jackson. 

Brian Campbell, 24, and Corey Shawn Smith, 28, are both charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm during a felony violent crime in connection with a shooting that occurred on Sept. 28, 2018. Campbell is also charged with possession of a firearm with a felony conviction and conspiracy to first-degree murder, while Smith faces an additional count of first-degree murder and having a handgun on his person.

During closing arguments, one of the prosecutors revealed to the jury how co-defendants Campbell and Smith conspired to kill Ellis. The prosecutor recalled how Campbell was spotted wearing a similar tri-color sweatshirt from the day of the incident on his Facebook, Instagram, and in a rap video that appeared to be found in a link on his biography on Instagram.

“You saw him on video, make no mistake, it was Brian Campbell, and his favorite jacket,” according to the prosecution. The prosecutor also expressed to the jury how Campbell called the homicide unit himself on October 11, 2018, to see if they had found any suspects in the case of Ellis.

The prosecutors recalled how Smith tried to be careful in not being caught but failed, by bragging on the phone to another inmate about the murder of Ellis, “he shouldn’t have been hanging with them lil’ kids.”

Prosecutors reminded the jury how the defendants called Ellis over to them moments before shooting him multiple times in broad daylight.

“These grown men made sure he would never see his 18th birthday,” one of prosecutors told the jury as the body cam footage from one of the first responders on scene played in court.

The prosecution’s closing arguments ended with thanking the jury, “My co-counsel and I thank you for your time and attention in this case, the state has the burden in this case, and we have proved it beyond a reasonable doubt.”

During closing arguments, Roland Brown, defense attorney for Campbell, told the jurors that there are hints of reasonable doubt throughout the entire case. 

“This is an arena of factual representation,” Brown tells the jury, “I agree there were shooters in this case, but they are unidentifiable.”

Brown mentions the testimony from the primary investigator in this case, telling jurors how she could not describe the phenotype of the suspects in the video.

Brown also criticized the prosecutors about the lack of eyewitnesses to come forward in the case. There were no eyewitnesses to get up on the stand and point a finger at Campbell saying he committed this crime, Brown said. 

Addressing the evidence collected, Brown says the phone number associated with Campbell is actually registered to someone else. The jacket in question is actually red, black, and gray. Not red, black, and white, as alleged by prosecutors and witness testimony.

Before ending his closing arguments Brown faced the jury and told them “when facts don’t agree, you must set him free,” as he rested his hands upon Campbell’s shoulders. 

“I ask you not to make him another victim.”

Smith’s defense attorney, Robert J. Cole, began his closing arguments by sharing an analogy with the jury. He places jurors’ focus on how the prosecution built their case, noting that with building a house, you need a good foundation. This case was built on a cracked foundation. 

Cole also expressed his concerns about Historical Cellular Site Analysis, phone records obtained in this case, and a mischaracterization of the phone call Smith received from an inmate in jail. 

First, Cole believes that Historical Site Analysis should have been performed on Avery Rich who should have been suspected in the case. According to the defense attorney, Rich has the same stature as Smith, standing at about 5’8″ and they have similar skin complexions. Furthermore, no DNA analysis was conducted on Rich before he was murdered on Aug. 24, 2019. 

Second, AT&T phone records obtained in this case shows that the number the prosecution has associated with Smith is not registered under his name. 

Lastly, the jail call that Smith received from an inmate was completely taken out of context by the prosecution. Cole told the jury that Smith was only telling his friend that he could not wait for him to come home from prison.

In addition, Cole says that there was no motive for Smith to kill Ellis, citing to the jury that no motive could suggest innocence.

In the prosecution’s rebuttal, they reassured the jurors that they can prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt because Campbell and Smith gave all the evidence needed to convict. Addressing the closing arguments from the defense counsel, the prosecution said there was a lack of eyewitnesses to go on the stand because they were afraid. However, that is why the primary investigator’s investigation was extremely thorough. 

“Nothing to justify killing a 17-year-old,” said one of the prosecutors, before reading a transcript of  the audio call from jail shared between Smith and another inmate. In the transcript the inmate asks who was killed on Druid Hill the other day, and asks about where Ellis is from, in which Smith replies, “down bottom.” Smith mentions Ellis’ name before asking if the inmate had seen the news report about the crime on ‘Murder Ink,” a media source on Instagram notorious for posting local alerts about crime in Baltimore. 

Addressing the lack of DNA evidence and forensic printing in this case, prosecutors described how the fire and gas emitted from the firearms immediately burned up and erased all traces of DNA as the weapons were fired. No suitable prints can be recovered after that happens. 

Before ending their rebuttal, prosecutors instructed jurors on how they can use special technology while deliberating to zoom in on each suspect captured in the surveillance footage from the day of the incident to aid them in finalizing their verdicts. 

According to court documents, on Sept. 28, 2018, at approximately 1:34p.m., Baltimore City Police Department officers responded to the 1200 block of Druid Hill Avenue for reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found 17-year-old Beontray Ellis suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. 

He was taken to an area hospital where he later died.