A Ring camera positioned across from the site of an attempted murder captured a victim being shot and crashing his car, according to testimony on Sept. 21 in the trial of 25-year-old Eshawn Jones. However, Jones insists someone else committed the crime.
Jones faces charges of attempted murder, carjacking, armed robbery, conspiracy and multiple gun offenses in connection with the Feb. 10, 2022, shooting on the 100 block of N. Smallwood Street. According to charging documents, the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car when he was shot. He attempted to flee but crashed the vehicle into a vacant building. The victim is now paralyzed in both arms.
Nonetheless, when Jones took the stand, he claimed he wasn’t responsible.
Defense attorney William Porter asked Jones about a red sweatshirt he allegedly wore during the shooting and on surveillance footage in the area. Jones testified that there were a lot of red sweatshirts in the home he was residing in at the time.
The defendant also stated that he saw another individual he knew put on a red sweatshirt just before the incident. He then said he heard gunshots and witnessed a lot of commotion outside of the house, but was inside during the shooting.
In a confrontational cross-examination, the prosecution argued that there were several inconsistencies between the defendant’s testimony on the stand and statements made during an interview with detectives after his arrest on Mar. 1, 2022.
The recorded interview was shown to jurors earlier in the day in which Jones seemed to point the finger at at least two other people, one allegedly a former friend. Nonetheless, Jones stuck to his claim that somebody else shot the victim.
Earlier, the lead detective in the investigation, testified in front of Baltimore City Circuit Court Jeannie J. Hong that police found no witnesses nor CityWatch camera footage at the scene, leading investigators to search for surveillance footage from nearby residences.
The officer said she located a Ring camera at a residence across from the crime scene. Prosecutors showed several video clips and their position in relation to the shooting but not the shooting itself.
In addition, Ring camera footage showed the shooter wearing a red hoodie. Surveillance footage from Gomez Grocery earlier that morning showed Jones wearing what investigators described as the same hoodie, and Jones identified himself in the footage during his recorded interview.
The detective further testified that the homeowner later sent investigators additional footage from two days later of a man firing at the doorbell camera.
Surveillance images from the surrounding area show three individuals running toward Smallwood Street around the time of the shooting. Additional footage showed a vehicle veering off the road and smoke coming from the crash as individuals ran from the area.
Closing arguments are set to take place tomorrow morning followed by jury deliberations.
