The state dismissed all charges against Maliq Shelman, 19, on June 30 after they became unable to track down an essential eyewitness for testimony.
On Tuesday, the state told Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Anthony F. Vittoria that they believed their eyewitness was deliberately avoiding testimony. The technology the state had been using to track the witness’ location had reportedly become damaged and stopped working.
Sherman was originally charged with 15 counts, including attempted murder, assault, firearm use, possession of a firearm as a minor and reckless endengarment.
Charging documents state that on Sept. 9, 2025, a 16-year-old shooting victim was dropped off at St. Agnes hospital, suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. The vehicle that dropped him off was a black Acura.
That same night, Baltimore City Police were dispatched to a reported shooting on the 500 block of N. Edgewood Street, where they found numerous shell casings and live rounds, as well as a pool of blood.
Video footage of the incident showed that the victim and two other men were firing at another man on the scene. One of the individuals within the group allegedly shot the victim while the other two members of the group fled. A black Acura then dropped the victim off at St. Agnes Hospital.
Surveillance footage from the hospital revealed the license plate number of the Black Acura, and investigators found that the eyewitness had been stopped multiple times while driving the car. According to police documents, the witness is known to be a member of a drug crew.
On Sept. 11, 2025, police searched the witness’ property and detained him. The witness agreed to talk to detectives and allegedly identified “Maliq S” as one of the other individuals who dropped Hinton off at the hospital. Further investigation of social media and arrest history helped police discover his full name.
Detectives later found Shelman on the 3900 block of Woodridge Avenue and tried to detain him. The defendant reportedly fled. While he was running, a handgun allegedly fell from his waistband. Investigators recovered it and successfully detained Shelman.
The handgun Shelman dropped was lo later said to match the .357-caliber shell casings recovered from the crime scene.
Although Shelman’s case has been dismissed, the state can refile his charges if they decide to do so.
