Contrasting opening statements were presented to a jury in the murder retrial of 33-year-old Reginald Raysor on Sept. 2 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Hope Tipton. Raysor’s first murder trial in January ended in a hung jury.
On Sept. 14, 2024, police responded to a shooting on the 1100 block of Springfield Avenue, where Reginald Bernard Harrod, 59, was found deceased. When Harrod was reportedly exiting his vehicle, two suspects approached, demanding his belongings. A struggle ensued, and Harrod was fatally shot by one of the suspects. Besides Raysor, the other suspect remains unidentified.
Two weeks before the murder, Raysor was identified as a suspect in the robbery and non-fatal shooting of a sex worker that occurred on the 2400 block of Guilford Avenue. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years for count one murder.
The casings found at Harrod’s murder scene were linked to the earlier incident on Guilford Avenue.
The prosecutor said one day later, police approached Raysor as a person of interest in a pizza shop, and he attempted to flee. During the chase, Raysor was said to discard a black satchel, which police say contained a gun. Casings from the weapon were said to match a previous crime. A ballistics expert will affirm the findings, said the prosecutor.
However, Defense Attorney Jerry Rodriguez argues no evidence proves the defendant pulled the trigger. Further, there weren’t any eyewitnesses to the murder, and no video surveillance footage. He also claimed the ballistics recovered from both crimes aren’t a match, and at least three different handprints were found on the firearm.
The trial is expected to continue on Sept. 3rd.
