Facts of Case are ‘Damning’ for the Defendant, Prosecutor Says

By Massiel Morales [former] - August 12, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Victims |

Closing arguments came to an end in the trial of a homicide defendant charged with the conspiracy of murder and homicide of two victim before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta A. Brown

Kiray Walker, 21, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and two counts of use of a firearm during a violent crime. His co-defendants, Malik Brooks, 22, and Devon Bynum, 19, are also charged. Their trials are slated to occur after Walker’s trial concludes.

During closing arguments on Aug. 12, the prosecutor told the jury how the three co-defendants were connected with two carjackings, five armed robberies and the double shooting of the deceased victims Aryanna James, 22, and Courtney Richardson, 21. 

The shell casings found at the crime scene matched the gun that was found in Walker’s underwear, said the prosecutor.

The prosecutor asked the jurors to consider Walker’s testimony when he was interviewed by the detective. Walker told the detective that the gun was his and no one else had used it before midnight. 

He urged the jurors to look at the facts of this case, including the Honda Civic and the Monte Carlo were discovered near Walker’s home on Marbourne and Janice Avenue and the gun that killed James and Richardson belonged to Walker. 

“The defendant fired these shots,” the prosecutor said, “taking two lives, leaving them dead on the sidewalk.”

Defense counsel, Catherine Flynn, told the jurors to not get swayed by the prosecutors logical theory. 

Flynn argued that if Walker had committed the double homicide, then it would be highly unlikely that he would admit ownership to his gun. 

She also emphasized that the Baltimore County detective, who testified that the location at Marbourne Avenue and Janice Avenue is where most carjacked cars end up, has nothing to do with the address of her client. 

Lastly, Flynn told jurors that the prosecutor wants to convict Walker because he was a passenger in the Honda Civic. Flynn said Brooks was setting her client up. 

She said Brooks most likely used Walker’s gun and told him to hold the gun when being chased by the police. She said Walker ended up covering for Brooks. 

“Law enforcement was reaching conclusions without doing their job,” Flynn said, referring to the three masks found that were never tested for DNA. She emphasized that no one testified about DNA and that Walker was only declared guilty by association. 

“Walker is not only presumed innocent but is innocent,” said Flynn. 

In a rebuttal, the prosecutor said that there was no evidence that Brooks set up Walker and that no one put the gun in Walker’s underwear. “Nonsense, nonsense,” he said. 

The firearm examiner tied Walker’s gun to the deaths of James and Richardson through ballistics, he said. 

The prosecutor ended his closing arguments by telling the jurors that the defense is trying to put blame on Brooks and Bynum. He said the facts of this case “are damming for Mr. Walker.”

“I ask that you make this day, a day of accountability and reckoning,” said the prosecutor. 

Jurors begin deliberation Friday. Brooks trial is set to begin Monday following Walker’s verdict.