Opening arguments were heard June 30 in the case of 29-year-old Dewitt Jackson before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey M. Geller.
Jackson is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree arson, home invasion and firearm use in a felony violent crime in connection to the death of 18-year-old Bryan Stansbury on Dec. 10, 2024.
According to charging documents, at approximately 9:50 a.m. on the day of the incident, officers responded to a shooting inside a residence on the 1100 block of Quantril Way. Upon arrival, officers found Stansbury unresponsive on the second floor hallway outside his bedroom door.
Officers were able to identify Jackson as the alleged murder suspect via cellphone location records and a white Ford Explorer with a distinctive sticker that he supposedly used to arrive at and depart from the crime scene.
Approximately 12 hours after police responded to the crime scene, the Baltimore City Fire Department responded to the 2800 block of Saint Lo Drive in Clifton Park, where they found the Ford Explorer on fire. Arson detectives determined the fire was set intentionally.
Investigators says they were able to track Jackson’s cellphone from Rosedale, Maryland, where the Ford Explorer was originally reported stolen, to the murder scene and the location the vehicle was later found burning. Jackson was arrested Feb. 3 in connection to another matter.
During opening arguments, the prosecutor walked the jurors through the evidence they can expect to see at trial, including witness testimony from the victim’s family members and detectives who responded to the incident. The state expressed confidence that the evidence would lead jurors to find that Jackson murdered Stansbury.
Defense attorney Staci Pipkin maintained Jackson’s innocence, emphasizing that the state would be unable to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The trial is set to continue July 1 with further witness testimony.
