The attempted murder trial of Buddy Rositzky, 25, is now in the hands of the jury.
Closing arguments on Sept. 24. centered primarily on who was the aggressor in the incident that occurred on March 7?
The prosecution began by noting that the defendant allegedly admitted to possession of a firearm and argued that the remaining charges came down to what happened between the defendant and the victim during their early morning encounter.
According to the prosecution, the victim was driving home around 3 a.m. when she encountered a group riding scooters riders that appeared to be blocking the road. The trouble started when the victim tried to pass the group
The prosecution pointed to security camera footage that appeared to show the defendant pursuing the victim after she passed him. Then the defendant allegedly ran red lights to catch up with her before approaching the passenger side of her stopped vehicle. The victim rolled down her window, believing the defendant wanted to speak with her, and the prosecution contended he fired the first shot.
Highlighting audio from the surveillance footage, the prosecutor said the first gunshot sounded as though it came from outside the vehicle, while a second, more muddled shot approximately three seconds later was consistent with a shot fired from inside the vehicle. The prosecution argued that the victim then fired through her windshield in response.
Defense attorney Jason Rodriguez argued that the victim was driving aggressively, following closely behind the defendant and honking. He questioned the victim’s credibility, pointing to inconsistencies in her statements about where her firearm was located.
Rodriguez also argued that the physical evidence did not support the victim’s account, noting the absence of a broken passenger-side window or shell casings where they would be expected if the shooting occurred as she described.
Rodriguez maintained that the defendant was attempting to leave the confrontation rather than evade police. He also emphasized that the defendant admitted to possessing and firing a weapon.
During rebuttal, the prosecutor said the timeline and surveillance footage support its version of events–namely that the defendant admitted he fired a detected shot and that the victim shot back.
The prosecution also urged jurors to listen closely to the victim’s 911 call, arguing her voice reflected panic throughout the 10 minute call.
The case is being heard before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta A. Brown.
