Police chase footage was presented to jurors on Sept. 16 in the murder trial of Matthew “Kintay” Harper Jr. as jurors heard testimony from several Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers and forensic experts.
Harper is charged with first-degree murder and firearm offenses in connection to the Oct. 7, 2024 fatal shooting of Damien Parker on the 2300 block of Harford Road.
An officer testified about surveillance footage recovered from three businesses along Harford Road. Only one of the three videos was shown to the jury, but it depicted four people running and a car speeding away shortly after.
Another officer, from the BPD’s Aviation Unit, testified that officers on the ground reported seeing a man take a gun from Parker. Helicopter footage shown to jurors depicts a person of interest throwing an object into a silver sedan. It then goes on to show the helicopter following the car while a chase was happening on the ground.
A crime scene investigator testified about the firearm evidence recovered during the investigation, including a 9mm handgun and .40-caliber pistol. The weapons were located at the scene. During cross-examination, the defense established that unfired cartridges recovered in the case were not swabbed for DNA.
A different Aviation Unit video was also shown during another officer’s testimony. The footage showed a black car crash into another car before the occupant ran toward an alley and tossed an object.
The video shows how the aviation officer directed ground officers to the area where the object, a gun, was later recovered. A DNA analyst said DNA recovered from the firearm and magazine contained at least three contributors and that the results strongly supported Harper being one of them.
The trial is still ongoing and is slated to continue on Sept. 17.
