A jury delivered a mixed verdict July 1 for two co-defendants charged in a fatal shooting that occurred last March in Northwest Baltimore
Darius Bell, 33, and Joseph Hubbard, 35, were each charged with multiple counts of murder and related firearm offenses in connection to the death of 30-year-old Christopher Banks, who was shot to death at a corner store on the 5400 block of Park Heights Avenue.
At trial, Bell’s defense attorney, Donald Wright, argued Banks had been antagonizing customers prior to being shot in the chest. Hubbard’s attorney, Jason Ott, claimed Banks was shot with his own firearm after a struggle over the weapon.
Meanwhile, the state maintained that Bell and Hubbard surrounded Banks, who they said was seen behaving calmly in store surveillance footage, and attacked him. The co-defendants were later arrested at Hubbard’s house.
Jurors ultimately acquitted Bell and Hubbard of first-degree murder, but convicted them of two handgun offenses. Hubbard was additionally convicted of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. The jury did not reach verdicts on several of the lesser charges.
Bell and Hubbard are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles H. Dorsey III, who presided over their jury trial. According to the Maryland Judiciary, the court has ordered a pre-sentencing investigation report for Hubbard.
