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By
Andrew Michaels
, Alyssia Davis [former] - October 31, 2022
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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“We know this crime was premeditated because [the defendant] sat across the street for minutes and went to get someone else to help him carry out his plan of killing Tayshawn David.”
During closing arguments on Oct. 27, a Baltimore City prosecutor reminded the jury of the events leading up to the 22-year-old victim’s death, specifically the evidence that identified Jaesiah Neal as the person who pulled the trigger on that late October evening last year.
However, the jury found 20-year-old Neal not guilty of murder and weapons charges on Oct. 28 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin H Schreiber II.
The prosecutor accused Neal of fatally shooting David just after 10:41 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2021, inside an apartment on the 5100 block of Curtis Avenue. Behind her argument was testimony from the only eyewitness to the murder, who informed the court that she saw the shooter fire multiple shots at the victim through a window after the former gained access to the apartment through the fire escape.
Neal allegedly shot David in jealousy after the victim began a relationship with the defendant’s ex-girlfriend.
Over the course of the four-day trial, the witness admitted that she wasn’t entirely forthcoming with information when she spoke with Baltimore Police officers, having excluded her communication with Neal before and after the shooting. This included a text message sent by the witness to the defendant that read, “I’m going to kill him,” referring to David.
Additional evidence that corroborated witness testimony was video evidence that showed the shooter climbing the fire escape as well as Neal’s fingerprints on the apartment window.