Judge Denies Motion for 21-Year-Old Homicide Defendant during Trial

By Lucy Kim [former] - August 11, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

A motion for acquittal was denied Aug. 11 by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta A. Brown during the ongoing trial of a Baltimore man accused of homicide on Aug 11.

Kiray Walker, 21, Malik Brooks, 22, 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 crime spree that included robbing several people at gunpoint and stealing two cars between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2019.  Baltimore Witness previously reported that Walker’s trial is the first of the three to go before a jury. The other two trials are scheduled to immediately follow.  

Defense counsel for Kiray Walker, Catherine Flynn, motioned for judgment of acquittal, arguing that there was no evidence that linked the robberies and carjackings. The defendant is only seen as a passenger of the vehicle associated with the incident. 

The prosecutor argued that in Walker’s statements, he said that no one had the firearm after midnight the night of the incident. But the firearm was used after midnight. In addition, Walker was seen fleeing from the vehicle. 

A forensic scientist, who confirmed the firearm used by matching the serial number, explained he used microscopic analysis to compare the firearm he tested to the firearm he received.

The scientist said the evidence came on Nov. 14, 2019, and the examination was executed on Dec. 9, 2019.  

A police detective, who interviewed the arrested suspects, testified that he found four stolen cellular devices with Bynum. The devices belonged to several victims from the night the incidents took place. 

The prosecutor also called a homicide detective who matched one of the suspects’ jackets. The jacket belonged to Brooks, who was captured on security footage wearing it. The detective also said the defendant and the co-defendants’ houses were in close proximity to each other.

Closing arguments are scheduled to begin on Aug. 12.