Jurors began deliberating March 12 in the trial of Antonio Mackey, 22, after counsel delivered closing arguments before Baltimore City Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams.
Mackey is charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and four gun violations for allegedly assaulting and shooting a man on the 200 block of Clay Street last January.
The state’s attorney urged jurors to find Mackey guilty, pointing to surveillance footage and medical records presented at trial that showed the victim sustained a critical gunshot wound to his hip. Video footage recovered from the area of Clay Street showed a suspect identified as Mackey interacting with the victim in an alley before their conversation appeared to grow hostile, leading the suspect to fire a gun as the victim fled.
Jurors were later shown a jacket with “distinctive seams” belonging to Mackey, which appeared to match the one worn by the suspect seen in the footage.
The state’s argument also referenced jail calls Mackey made to his girlfriend in which he seemed to admit his guilt. “I ain’t gonna lie, they got me here,” he reportedly told her.
The calls further suggested that Mackey returned to the scene of the shooting in its aftermath, as his girlfriend was heard asking him, “Why would you go back there?”
Defense attorney John Deros argued that the state failed to prove Mackey’s guilt, emphasizing a distinct lack of eyewitness identifications and the state’s heavy reliance on surveillance footage that he called unclear.
Deros pointed to several uncertainties surrounding the encounter that led up to the shooting, questioning whether a struggle occurred. He claimed the footage failed to prove that Mackey possessed the firearm used in the shooting and criticized the state’s investigation, arguing detectives stopped pursuing additional leads once they obtained an arrest warrant and failed to take steps that could have produced definitive evidence.
Deros concluded the state had “a powerful amount of persuading to do” before they could secure a guilty verdict, and urged jurors to acquit Mackey of his charges.
