The trial of 25-year-old Bernard Crawford continued on Sept. 3 as the defendant took the stand claiming he did not have a gun during the Feb. 9 incident. However, he said he did own a gun while living in Georgia.
Crawford is charged with first-degree assault, firearm use in a felony crime, reckless endangerment and other related charges stemming from a shooting incident on Feb. 9 in a home with a four and a ten-year-old nearby. The case is being heard by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul Cucuzzella.
According to charging documents, officers responded to a reported shooting at a residence on the 3700 block of St. Victor Street. Crawford had allegedly gone to the home where his girlfriend was braiding hair to bring her supplies. Crawford’s girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend lived at the residence. Crawford arrived after his girlfriend had already been there for a few hours.
According to Crawford’s testimony, his girlfriend went into the kitchen to get her phone from a charger. Her ex-boyfriend followed her into the kitchen and asked her to buy him an alcoholic beverage. When she refused, Crawford said the ex-boyfriend became “handsy” with her.
Crawford testified that he saw what was happening and approached the two in an attempt to deescalate the situation. He said he could smell alcohol on the ex-boyfriend prior to the deescalation and that he had never met the “ex” before the day of the incident.
Crawford said he gently grabbed the ex-boyfriend’s arm and told him not to touch his girlfriend. He then kicked the ex-boyfriend in the knee, causing him to stumble. Crawford testified that the ex-boyfriend had his girlfriend against the refrigerator and a table in the kitchen and was choking her.
Crawford denied pulling out a gun or any other weapon during the altercation.
Crawford’s girlfriend also testified earlier that she did not see any weapons come out during the fight.
In challenging the statement, the prosecutor asked, “So the bullet hole miraculously appeared?” in reference to the damage in a kitchen wall.
Earlier, a patrol officer testified about s body-worn camera footage from the incident. The officer recalled seeing what appeared to be a bullet hole in the kitchen wall. The defense attorney, Stephen Tully, objected to the response as speculative and the judge instructed the jury to disregard the testimony.
The first witness for the defense was an old friend of Crawford’s, who Crawford lived with in March of this year. The friend testified that Crawford owns a gun and has a permit to carry it. He said the gun was kept locked in a safe with access to the code.
Crawford later testified that he knew his friend owned a gun and confirmed that he did not have access to it.
