Defense Argues Mistaken Identity in Belair Road Attempted Murder Trial

By Samira Cobon - February 22, 2024
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

The attempted murder trial of  29-year-old defendant Myles Edwards ended on Feb. 20 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong, with closing statements from the prosecuting attorney and defense attorney Jason Rodriguez.

Body-worn camera footage from the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) showed the victim bleeding in his car unable to move from the passenger seat moments after he reportedly ran from the suspect.

The victim was shot six times; twice on his left leg, twice on his right leg, once on his back and once on his hand, which the prosecutor explained was a result of the victim putting his hands up.

The prosecutor explained to the jury that “anyone could have been shot by” the defendant had they been near the incident.

According to the prosecution, when Edwards was taken into custody, he told BPD officers that he “already knew what it’s about. I don’t want nothing to do with that,” referring to the incident that occurred on April 15, 2023, on the 5400 block of Belair Road.

According to Rodriguez, investigators “worked backwards,” accusing Edwards due to his similar appearance to the shooter despite there was no motive for Edwards to shoot the victim, especially six times.

Rodriguez also showed two side-by-side images, one of Edwards walking around the neighborhood in which the incident occurred and one of the person who shot the victim. 

In the verified image of Edwards, Rodriguez pointed to a drawstring found hanging from his jacket. But on the image to the side, Rodriguez showed there was “no drawstring, no zipper, no textured pattern” on the suspect’s jacket. Rodriguez stated it was clear the hoodie the shooter was wearing was not the hoodie that Edwards was wearing. 

Additionally, Rodriguez said the victim told police that the “shooter had a tattoo under his right eye” and that he had what seemed to be dreads, which Rodriguez argued did not resemble the appearance of his client, which he confirmed by displaying Edwards’ mugshot.

Edwards’ car was also misidentified by the prosecution as the suspect’s car, according to Rodriguez. The defense argued that the video footage of what the prosecutor considered to be Edwards’ car in both clips was not in fact the same car, but two distinct cars.

Rodriguez pointed out that one car had two bright stickers on the side, while the other seemed to have no stickers as shown on video.

The next step is jury deliberations.