A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of suppressing body-worn camera footage in the case of 31-year-old Darius Doles, who is charged in connection to a March non-fatal shooting.
During Thursday’s motion hearing before Judge Hope Tipton, defense counsel raised concerns about new evidence that included additional photographs and body-worn camera footage from the defendant’s initial stop. The defense argued that the footage, which was recently turned over, showed officers questioning Doles without advising him of his Miranda rights.
The footage played in court showed Doles being ordered out of his vehicle following a ShotSpotter alert. In the recording, Doles repeatedly says, “It’s not me, sir. It’s not me,” while being detained and later transported for questioning. Defense counsel argued that Doles was never told he was free to leave and remained handcuffed throughout the 28-minute encounter.
The prosecution maintained that the interaction was a Terry stop and that officers had probable cause to temporarily detain Doles without reading Miranda warnings. However, Judge Tipton disagreed, noting that after reviewing the footage in full, no officer clearly stated that Doles was not under arrest.
“Once you determine someone is not armed, he should not be cuffed,” Judge Tipton said, pointing out that Doles remained restrained despite officers confirming he had no weapon. She clarified that a Terry stop is not equivalent to a traffic stop and stated that Doles was never made to feel free to leave.
Citing the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment protections against self-incrimination and guaranteeing due process, as well as precedents set in Ball v. State and Escobedo v. Illinois, Judge Tipton found that police should have known their questioning was incriminating and failed to provide Miranda warnings. The court granted the defense’s motion to suppress all statements captured in the body-worn camera footage.
The prosecution noted plans to appeal the decision, calling the footage material to their case due to alleged inconsistencies in Doles’ statements. Judge Tipton reminded counsel that they have 15 days to file an appeal, cautioning that the deadline falls close to Doles’ Hicks date which requires a trial to start 180 days after an initial court appearance.
Doles is charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime, firearm possession during a felony crime of violence, and illegal possession of ammunition in connection to a shooting that occurred March 9 on the 1400 block of Myrtle Avenue.
