Man Accused of Firing Gun in 2022 Fells Point Shooting Found Not Guilty

By Andrew Michaels , Alyssia Davis [former] - February 20, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

The fourth co-defendant accused of attempted murder for the 2022 Fells Point shooting was found not guilty on Feb. 17.

Ronald Maranto, 32, was charged alongside co-defendants Luciano Bruno, 27, Joel Duncan, 26, and Nathan Presberry, 26, for the attempted murder of multiple victims on Jan. 15, 2022, following an argument at The Admiral’s Cup restaurant and bar earlier that evening. A mistrial was declared in connection to some of the weapons charges against Maranto; however, they were dismissed.

Bruno was previously found not guilty on Feb. 9, while Duncan and Presberry were found guilty in January.

“I don’t want to have my cake and eat it too,” defense attorney Jason Rodriguez told jurors during closing arguments on Feb. 16. “[The defendant] cannot conspire if another person was acting in self-defense. There was no incident where [the defendant] acts in self-defense.”

According to the prosecution, Bruno and Duncan got into a fight with the victims at the restaurant and called Maranto and Presberry after they were thrown out. The men then sought out the victims and shots were fired.

Rodriguez noted that his client was only a passenger in the vehicle and hadn’t even been at The Admiral’s Cup when the altercation started.

“There’s absolutely no evidence that he did any shooting or conspiracy,” he said, adding that no shell casings or bullet fragments were found where Maranto was accused of firing the gun.

The prosecutor reminded jurors that Maranto was seen falling out of the car as it was driving away and that Baltimore Police found his wallet at the crime scene. He also referenced one of Maranto’s jail calls when the person he was speaking with said, “You did this,” and he responded, “Yeah, no s—.”

The trial was held before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Christopher Panos.