‘It was a Massacre,’ Prosecutor Says During Closing Arguments

By Braden Hamelin [former] - July 19, 2022
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

An Under Armour jacket, a handgun with an extended magazine, a pair of black shoes with a white spot on the heels and a gray Honda with distinct damage. These were key pieces of evidence that faced hours of scrutiny on the last day of the murder trial of Anthony Priester.

Anthony Priester is accused of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting two people and killing one of them in the Bella Roma Pizza shop on the evening of March 26, 2021. 

“It wasn’t just a murder, it was a massacre” the prosecutor said during her closing arguments on July 18.

The prosecutor emphasized the fact that the incident happened within 30 seconds and was extremely brutal, with five shooters unloading at least 63 shots during that time frame. 

Their arguments were backed by testimony from the lead detective in the case, who said police found the clothing and the extended magazine at Priester’s house and matched them to one of the shooters shown on video footage, which was shown to the jury. 

The detective also said police found a photo of Priester with an extended magazine gun a few days after the shooting when they did an extraction of his ex-girlfriend’s phone. 

“Don’t leave your common sense at the door,” the prosecutor said, asking the jury to make the connection between the items found and Priester’s guilt. 

However, these pieces of evidence were not convincing enough for the defense attorney Creston Smith, who argued, in his closing, there was no direct tie between Priester owning the items and being the shooter. 

Preister could’ve bought the gun from the shooter after the fact, Smith argued, and Priester is far from the only person to own that particular style of jacket and sneakers. 

Smith wanted direct forensic evidence that linked the items or Preister as being present at the scene of the shooting, but the detective testified that none was recovered. 

“Life and liberty is at stake here,” Smith said to the jury, asking them to carefully consider what evidence wasn’t brought to them, like DNA. 

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong presided over the hearing.

The jury broke for deliberations in the afternoon but was unable to reach a verdict before the day ended. Deliberations are set to continue on July 19.