Jury Finds Music Studio Owner Guilty

By Brooke Uzzell [former] - April 14, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On April 8, a jury delivered a guilty verdict of all charges following a homicide trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John S. Nugent. 

Michael Joseph, Sr. was charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm during a violent crime in connection to an incident on Feb. 12, 2021, on the 100 block of Baltic Avenue.

Defense attorney Brandon Mead, representing Joseph, maintained that his client shot and killed 25-year-old Kamari Ivery-Williams in self-defense after they had a dispute about business. 

Mead argued that Joseph feared for his life, recalling a statement that Ivery-Williams made before the shooting, “I’m going to blow your head off.”

Addressing what occurred directly after the shooting, Mead emphasized to jurors how Joseph did everything he could do to prevent Ivery-Williams from committing any more harm, even citing how Joseph shot him in the lower-half of his body.

On the other hand, the prosecutor portrayed a different version of events to the jury, proposing that Joseph’s claims conflicted with his son’s story, who testified as a witness in this case on behalf of the prosecution. 

The jury was challenged with having to believe Joseph’s recollection of events that night or his son’s testimony. Joseph’s son said he remembers his father being the aggressor that night, explaining to the jury how he was the first to swing at the victim. 

Inconsistencies in Joseph’s story included his location at the time of the shooting and a statement that Ivey-Williams was wearing a holster. Evidence presented during the trial showed that neither one of the statements were true.

According to a press release, on Feb. 12, 2021, at approximately 12:01 a.m., Southern District patrol officers responded to the 100 block of Baltic Avenue for a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they located Ivery-Williams suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Ivery-Williams was transported to an area hospital where he later died.

After confessing to the murder in front of officers, Joseph was arrested at the scene.

Joseph is not scheduled for a sentencing at this time; however, he is scheduled for a Zoom Collateral hearing on Aug. 2, according to the Maryland Judiciary website. According to the judiciary website his case is pending a motion to modify.