Defendant Was ‘Settling a Score’ Says Prosecutor in Case of Fatal Shooting of Woman in 2021

Baltimore Courthouse

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Homicide defendant Lenny Epps was going to “settle a score, ” according to the prosecutor when he went to the apartment of a man who he believed was hitting on his girlfriend and opened fire, killing a 17-year-old woman and injuring two brothers.

On Feb. 9, Epps began a jury trial for first-degree murder, home invasion and weapons charges in addition to multiple counts of assault and attempted murder. He is represented by defense attorney Ann Marie Gering.

According to the prosecution, Alissa Traylor and the two brothers were asleep at an apartment on the 600 block of Lakewood Avenue on Jan. 23, 2021. Around 3:00 a.m, the 43-year-old defendant allegedly saw them sleeping on the living room floor and began firing a gun, shooting the brothers in the buttocks and mouth, respectively, and Traylor in the back.

“Sometimes, you don’t know how strong you are until you’re in a weak moment,” the prosecutor told jurors on Thursday morning.

Gering remained skeptical during her opening statement, telling the jury that, initially, one of the brothers told Baltimore Police that he didn’t know the identity of the shooter.

“Why did [he] lie at the scene?” she asked.

No fingerprints of DNA recovered from the scene were linked to her client, she added. The trial continued with testimony on Thursday before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Robert Taylor.