Acquitted: Judge Denies Motion to Exclude Additional Evidence Before Jury Trial in Road-Rage Incident

By Connor Driscoll [former] - July 21, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

Editor’s note: The defendant was acquitted of charges in this case.

A motion to suppress certain witness statements and body camera footage in a non-fatal shooting case from 2019 was denied by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy on July 21.

Baltimore resident Anthony Ward is accused of shooting a 20-year-old man on October 31, 2019. He is charged with attempted first and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, firearm use in a violent crime, reckless endangerment, carrying a handgun, and discharging a firearm.

The incident began with a collision on the 400 block of Yale Avenue, less than a mile away from the scene of the shooting, according to the Baltimore Sun. The victim’s vehicle was hit by a dirt bike, which caused damage. The driver of the dirt bike is a man police believe is associated with Ward.

The crash eventually led to the non-fatal shooting on the 3600 block of Old Fredericks Road. The injured victim was treated at a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Ward was arrested nearly two months later on Dec. 26 in Spring Grove, Pa., by a task force of U.S. Marshal and Baltimore Police law enforcement agents.

Judge Handy presided over pretrial motions made by both the defense and prosecution on July 20. On Wednesday, she rejected additional motions made by the defense. Ward’s defense attorney, Todd Oppenheim, argued that witness statements and video evidence that police recorded when they first arrived at the scene should be prevented from being used as evidence in the trial.

Judge Handy denied the motion just minutes before 90 potential jurors walked into the courtroom for the selection process. She said the prosecution “has every right” to bring in such evidence.

Twelve jurors were selected on Wednesday, and the trial is expected to begin on July 21.