
Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Consider making a donation to help us continue our mission.
By
Ester Allen
- September 11, 2025
Court
|
Daily Stories
|
Homicides
|
Shooting
|
Suspects
|
Surveillance video was played in Baltimore City Circuit Court on Sept. 11, giving jurors a closer look at the moments leading up to the October 2024 shooting that claimed the life of 19-year-old Cameran Holt in Federal Hill.
Prosecutors presented several pieces of surveillance footage during the trial of Alexis Cancel Soto, 20-years-old, who faces charges in connection with Holt’s death. Two other men, 28-year-old Daeshaun Clark and 29-year-old Devontaye Richardson, are also charged with first-degree murder in the case.
The prosecution’s lead witness was a detective with the Baltimore City Police (BPD), who testified that he arrived at the crime scene around 4:30 a.m., roughly an hour after officers had secured the area. By that time, Holt had already been transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment. The detective noted that investigators recovered 37 pieces of ballistic evidence at the scene—cartridge casings, projectiles, and shell casings—though prosecutors had earlier stated the number was closer to 40.
The detective explained how he collected and reviewed key surveillance footage, including Ring camera footage from a nearby residence, a 7-Eleven security camera, and Baltimore CitiWatch footage. The video, taken in the early morning hours of Oct. 27, 2024, allegedly shows Richardson arguing with a man driving a purple Dodge Challenger in a parking lot on West Hamburg Street. According to the detective, multiple individuals can be seen holding firearms as they walk away.
The footage shows Holt leaving the parking lot and parking her vehicle on West Hamburg Street. A Nissan Maxima carrying other individuals involved in the incident was also seen parked nearby. The detective testified that one suspect could be seen “assuming position” before gunfire erupts. Holt was struck while inside her vehicle. The detective identified the positioning of the defendants that night: Clark next to Holt’s car, Richardson behind it, and Cance-Soto near the entrance of the parking lot.
Prosecutors also played portions of Cancel-Soto’s police interview following his arrest on Nov. 27, 2024. In the recording, Cancel-Soto allegedly told the detective that he arrived at the Federal Hill parking lot around 2 a.m. to meet with friends, where the group was smoking marijuana and drinking. He described an argument that broke out after a parked car was struck, which escalated when one individual brandished a firearm and others followed. Cancel-Soto allegedly admitted to firing his weapon at a vehicle as it drove off.
Cancel-Soto also expressed remorse over Holt’s death, telling the detective that he and Holt were close friends.
“I love that girl,” he said in the interview, adding that Holt was friends with several of the individuals he had gathered with that night. In his interview, he stated he had warned Holt to go home as the argument escalated. He later stated that one of Holt’s friends did not want to go home that night because her boyfriend was among the group out that night.
Cancel-Soto suggested Holt may have been struck by a bullet fired from someone else’s gun.