A homicide case stemming from an April shooting near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is headed to trial after defendant Travion Lemon rejected a plea offer during a preliminary hearing Aug. 7 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland.
Lemon is represented by defense attorney William Porter, who informed the court that any plea offer was being rejected, advising the court that Lemon has a separate pending narcotics case that still needs to be resolved with his client.
Judge Copeland then scheduled a four-day jury trial beginning Nov. 16 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Michael A. DiPietro. The court also noted a Hicks date speedy trial deadline of Nov. 30.
According to charging documents, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers responded shortly after 2:40 a.m. on April 5 to the 200 block of Key Highway for a reported shooting. They located Brandon Long suffering from a gunshot wound in a parking lot. Despite lifesaving efforts by paramedics, Long was pronounced dead at the scene.
Prosecution documents state surveillance footage showed Long arriving in a black Honda Accord before Lemon allegedly arrived about one minute later in a black Mercedes with another individual. After standing near one another for approximately 15 minutes, Lemon and Long allegedly became involved in a verbal altercation. Investigators allege Lemon stepped backward, produced a handgun and fired, striking Long.
Police allege Lemon fled toward the Inner Harbor, where detectives tracked his movements for approximately three miles using multiple CCTV cameras. The records claim investigators later identified Lemon after the driver of the Mercedes identified him from surveillance images. When interviewed after his arrest on an unrelated warrant, Lemon allegedly admitted he was present during the shooting and identified himself in CCTV photographs.
The case is scheduled to begin Nov. 16 before Judge DiPietro.
