Homicide Trial Begins for Second Baltimore Man Involved in Crime Spree

By Lucy Kim [former] - August 17, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

The second of three men charged in a crime spree that left two people dead began his trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta Brown on Aug. 16.

Malik Brooks, 22, Kiray Walker, 21, and Devon Bynum, 19, are accused of shooting and killing Courtney Richardson and Aryanna James on the 1900 block of McHenry Street as part of a night that included robbing several people at gunpoint and stealing two cars between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2019.

Brooks is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and two counts of firearm use during a violent crime. 

During opening statements, the prosecutor gave an overview of the incident and emphasized that the jury would be presented with circumstantial evidence. He also said the defendant’s actions contributed to this incident as a whole. 

The prosecutor called his first police officer to testify about the night of the incident. He said he followed up with the victims to check their condition and collected their belongings for evidence control. 

During cross-examinations, defense attorney, Jerome Bivens, questioned who was on the crime log of people at the crime scene. The officer said there were medics, police officers, and civilians on the site. Bivens also questioned whether he had written a report. He said he wrote a 1-page report after the incident. 

The prosecutor called a third police officer who was in the special activity unit. He said he recovered video footage from the residential and business areas.

During cross-exam, Bivens questioned if anyone else obtained the footage and if there was video recovered from a city camera. He said no to both questions. He also said he only pulled footage from two locations. 

The prosecutor called a detective who performed a daylight canvas to investigate the area when the sun was up. He said he observed a casing from the north side of the crime scene. 

During cross-exam, Bivens questioned if the detective looked into any video footage. He said he did not and he only discovered the casing during the canvassing. Bivens also questioned when the casing was found. The detective said the casing was discovered during daylight canvas.

The prosecutor called the crime scene technician who was requested to pull fingerprints from the cartridge case. She said when she arrived, the primary officer said the casing was under a vehicle but was removed now. She said that she could not recover any fingerprints from the case. 

During cross-exam, Bivens questioned if the cartridge casing was indeed under the car. The technician reiterated that when she arrived someone had already moved it.

Closing the day, the prosecutor called a retired crime lab technician. She testified she collected evidence, took photos at the crime scene, and wrote a report. The prosecutor walked through the report section by section as she did not recall the incident. 

Brooks’ trial is set to continue on Aug. 17.