Jurors are deliberating murder and gun against a Baltimore man charged in a fatal shooting that occurred following an altercation outside an “after hours” club in Brooklyn’s south Baltimore neighborhood.
Closing arguments in the case were heard June 12 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy. Prosecutors said that shortly before 7 a.m. on May 10, 2025, 50-year-old Ronald Hall shot 37-year-old Albert Manning twice in the back, striking him in the aorta, the main artery to the heart.
He then reportedly stood over Manning’s body as he bled out, and delivered one final gunshot. Medics pronounced Manning deceased upon arrival at the scene, which was located on the 3500 block of 2nd Street. Medical examiners reported he was shot in the aorta.
Hall was arrested over two months after the incident on May 28, 2025. Investigators charged him with first-degree murder, firearm use and two counts of possessing a firearm despite disqualifying felony convictions.
During closing arguments, the state’s attorney said Hall was “specifically targeting” Manning and pointed to area surveillance footage that allegedly showed him waiting in the area, presumably for the victim to exit the club. Police responded to the scene at approximately 6:47 a.m., 13 minutes before the club was scheduled to close. The state emphasized that the incident was a deliberate murder that occurred “in the middle of the street, at 7 a.m. on Mother’s Day.”
Further surveillance footage is said to show that Hall had been in the area of the club between 4 a.m.- and-5 a.m., and that he returned home briefly before riding his motorcycle back to the scene. The state contended his return home was an intentional and deliberate move to retrieve his gun, and argued Hall had significant time to premeditate Manning’s murder.
“He’s already made the decision,” said the prosecutor, pointing to the footage. “He lies there in wait for Mr. Manning.”
Defense attorney Natalie A. Finegar centered her closing argument on what she believed were investigative failures, claiming detectives approached their search of Hall’s residence with confirmation bias and stating one detective had already “made up his mind” when he entered the dwelling.
Evidence recovered from Hall’s unit in the Cherryland Apartments supposedly included a red-and-black pair of Nike’s, a black striped motorcycle jacket, two pairs of motorcycle goggles, and what the state described as “a million” ski masks “with fuzzies” — all of which likely matched the suspect’s clothes as seen in surveillance footage.
Finegar argued her client cooperated with law enforcement despite not knowing why they were at his home at the Cherryland Apartments, and claimed that the distinctive masks were a product Hall sold throughout his neighborhood.
She urged jurors to pay close attention to “the flavor of the interactions” between Hall and other individuals he was seen speaking with while standing outside the club. According to Finegar, Hall appeared to be “smiling and dapping people up” despite supposedly “lying in wait” to shoot Manning.
Finegar concluded by arguing there was “beyond a fragment of a reasonable doubt in this case” and urged jurors to acquit Hall of all four charges.
Jurors are currently deliberating.
