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By
Andrew Michaels
- March 13, 2024
Court
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Daily Stories
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Non-Fatal Shooting
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Shooting
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Suspects
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The reliability of the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) ShotSpotter gun detection service was at the forefront of defense counsel’s argument on March 12 at the start of 37-year-old Marcel Holt’s jury trial.
Holt is currently facing eight weapons charges, including firing a gun in Baltimore City, for an incident on Aug. 28, 2023. Attorney Jeremy Eldridge is representing Holt over the course of the two-day trial that began Tuesday afternoon before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Middleton.
“[This case] is about hard evidence,” Eldridge said during his opening statement. “And the [prosecution] lacks it.”
Earlier in the proceeding, the prosecution told the jury that BPD’s ShotSpotter system alerted police of an alleged shooting shortly after 9:30 p.m. on the 700 block of North Collington Avenue. The system is designed with acoustic sensors that Holt’s charging documents state “detect, locate and alert” police of “potential gunfire incidents in real time.”
When detectives arrived on the scene, they found the defendant who told them the sound came from fireworks. The prosecutor emphasized that it was at this moment that the defendant went into his house with a backpack and then came back outside without it. Police reported the backpack appeared to be heavy, which further raised suspicion.
The following day, police executed a search and seizure warrant when they found a handgun inside a washing machine in addition to the backpack, which also contained fishing equipment.
“A guilty mind has a busy mouth,” the prosecutor said, noting that Holt “tried every tactic that [he could] to get out of it.” However, Eldridge countered, the jury will not hear testimony to learn about ShotSpotter.
“I’m not going to waste your time during this trial,” the defense attorney said, explaining that ShotSpotter can pick up other sounds unrelated to gunfire. Although police did find the handgun as well as a 9mm round in the area, he added, there is no evidence to suggest the casing came from the handgun.
Holt’s trial continued with testimony and is expected to conclude on March 13.