Homicide Defendant Agrees to Testify Against Co-Defendants

By Baltimore Witness staff - July 23, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting |

An 18-year-old Baltimore resident charged with homicide said he was willing to testify against his co-defendants, delaying his sentencing by six months, on July 23 at the Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Devin Thompson was involved in a homicide on the 2400 block of Tolley Street that led to the death of 18-year-old Riyad Campbell. He is set to testify against his co-defendants, 19-year-old DeShon Walker and 18-year-old James Boisseau. 

Thompson attended the Zoom court hearing from jail in Howard County, having been transferred from Baltimore City for unspecified reasons. 

According to defense attorney David Zwanetz, Walker and Boisseau picked up Thompson in a car on March 29, 2020. The defendant stated he knew the two had handguns and that they were looking for three young men with the intent to shoot them. 

Walker met the intended targets at a local liquor store, where they asked him to buy them alcohol. Walker declined because none of them were over 21, so the young men proceeded to ask a person experiencing homelessness to buy them alcohol. 

A large group of people—including the defendant, Walker, and Boisseau—robbed them after they left the liquor store with their alcohol, and one of the victims was hit in the head with a handgun. 

After the robbery, the victims got back in their car to leave the scene, but Walker, Boisseau, and the defendant followed, eventually shooting at the victims from their car. Campbell was shot in the spine and rushed to the Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital emergency room, where he died from his injuries. 

Thompson was identified by one of the victims from his Instagram pictures. 

The defendant said his parents are both deceased, and that he suffers from “bipolar depression and sleeping disorders.” Zwanetz said he intends to file a special request for Thompson’s medication, which he had not been able to obtain while incarcerated in Howard County.

Thompson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to first-degree murder, and attempted armed robbery; three counts of reckless endangerment from a car; one count of armed robbery; and a variety of firearm-related offenses. 

The prosecution offered the defendant an amended charge, taking into consideration his intent to testify against his co-defendants. Instead of being charged with first-degree murder, Thompson was offered 80 years, suspending all but 20, and five years of supervised probation for common law conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. 

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland said she will make a referral for Thompson to go to the Patuxent Institution Youth Offender Program. Zwanetz accepted the offer on behalf of Thompson. 

Another young Baltimore resident facing a murder charge was heard by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn during reception court. 

Judge Phinn had rescheduled 24-year-old Shakira Shaw’s case for July 23 in reception court on June 8. At the time, the prosecution said they did not have an offer but were waiting for approval. 

Shaw, who was arrested in connection with the murder of her 1-year-old son in December 2019, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse.

The Baltimore Sun reported that a medical examiner originally ruled the death of her son, Kaleb, to be from natural causes, specifically, a heart arrhythmia. However, eight months later, Shaw called police and told them she suffocated her son at their home in Windsor Mill on the 400 block of Aisquith Street. Shaw said the voices of two babies she previously lost told her to kill her son.

During Friday’s proceeding, Judge Phinn postponed the defendant’s case again because Shaw was experiencing hallucinations. The defendant is scheduled to meet with a doctor on July 28. 

The prosecution still does not currently have an offer, and her case was rescheduled for reception court on Sept. 20.

Meanwhile, in the case of a non-fatal shooting defendant, a plea was offered and rejected.

20-year-old Kenneth Lawson is charged with attempted first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, firearm use in a violent crime, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, possession of a firearm as a minor, carrying a handgun on his person, transporting a handgun within 100 yards, illegal possession of ammunition, and discharging a handgun within the city.  

The prosecution offered him life, suspending all but 35 years, and five years of supervised probation for attempted first-degree murder. He was also offered 20 years, the first five without parole, for firearm use in a violent crime. Under the deal, the sentences would run concurrently. 

Defense attorney Linda B. Zeit rejected the offer on behalf of the defendant, and Judge Phinn scheduled his trial to begin Oct. 12.