Defense Gives ‘Nonsense’ Closing in Tivoly Avenue Shooting Trial, Prosecutor Says

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Jurors heard closing arguments in the disputed case of Juan Jumal Foster on Aug. 9 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong.

Foster, 44, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, firearm use in a felony violent crime, firearm possession with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, possession of a firearm in a controlled dangerous substance offense, having a handgun on his person, having a handgun in a vehicle and discharging firearms for a May 11, 2022, shooting on the 3800 block of Tivoly Avenue.

Using a variety of video and audio recordings, the prosecutor laid out a timeline of the shooting. The recordings showed Foster and his co-defendant, Amber Robinson Bijou, leaving Foster’s apartment, driving past Bijou’s house and parking around the corner from it. Then, Bijou exited the vehicle and went into her house.

Later in the recording, the victim, who is the father of Bijou’s children, was seen leaving her house in the direction of the vehicle. While the shooting was not visible, moments after the victim left the screen in the direction of the vehicle, he fell to the ground and crawled back toward Bijou’s house.

“Every piece of this puzzle led to one person, Juan Foster,” the prosecutor said.

Foster’s defense attorney, Derrick Hamlin, said that the victim was unreliable because he had identified another man, who later had an alibi, as the shooter, before he testified in court that Foster was the shooter. Hamlin also alleged that the victim was a “gangster” in part because he did not have a job.

Hamlin also said the victim was shot by someone in a red car, who drove past Bijou’s house just after the victim exited it. The red car drove past the house again later in the shooting after the victim had been shot.

In their rebuttal, the prosecutor responded by saying that Hamlin underestimated the evidence and the jury. They called Hamlin’s argument “nonsense” and full of “red herrings.”

They said that there was no evidence concerning the red car during the trial and pointed out that the car’s windows were up the whole time. But, they said, it is up to the jury to determine what happened.