opening statements Archives - Page 3 of 4

Trial Begins for Man Accused of Fatally Shooting His Older Brother at Family’s Home on Gibbons Avenue

Details “When a man is charged with such a serious crime, isn’t it important for someone to say, ‘I saw him do it,’?” Defense attorney Roland Brown posed this question to... Read More

Accused Shooter Acted in Self-Defense When Victim Pulled Out a Handgun, Defense Argues in 2022 Shooting Case

Details A Baltimore City homicide defendant’s defense counsel argued that his client acted in self-defense after shooting the victim who allegedly intervened in an argument between the defendant and his girlfriend.... Read More

Defendant Was Misidentified in 2022 Attempted Murder at Charles Center Metro Station, Defense Argues

Details In defense of Draquan Smith, attorney Latoya Francis-Williams proclaimed to a jury on May 16 that no one involved in the attempted murder at Charles Center Metro Station in June... Read More

Co-Defendants Begin Trial for South Mason Court Homicide

Details On Feb. 7, 2020, Gary Watkins got into an argument with a woman who was like a daughter to him over allegedly stolen drugs, a Baltimore City prosecutor told a... Read More

Victim’s Death Was ‘A Drug Deal Gone Bad, a Robbery Turned Fatal,’ Prosecutor Tells Jury

Details Nearly four years after 26-year-old Jaquan Johnson was gunned down in the streets, his alleged killer, Aaron Michael Clubb, sat before a 12-person jury on May 9 as his defense counsel... Read More

Attorney Says No Evidence Links Defendant to the Murder of His Girlfriend

Details “Love and violence cannot walk hand in hand.” The prosecution addressed a jury on the first day of trial for a man accused of murdering 30-year-old Breonna Rogers before Baltimore... Read More

Opening Statements Delivered in Trial for Man Accused of Committing 2020 Stabbing Two Days Before His Birthday

Details On May 2, a Baltimore man acquitted of murdering a 2-year-old in a 2022 trial appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays for the first day of trial in... Read More

Woman Accused of Kidnapping and Setting Victim on Fire Appears for Her First Day of Trial

Details On April 20, opening statements were delivered before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John A. Howard on the first day of trial for a Glen Burnie woman charged with the 2018 kidnap... Read More

Defense Claims Defendant Accidentally Shot His Girlfriend in 2021 Homicide Case

Details Sitting inside a Baltimore City Circuit courtroom on April 18, homicide defendant Daya Jones sniffled and wiped tears off of his cheek as his defense attorney explained to a jury... Read More

Trial Begins for 22-Year-Old Man Charged with 2022 Belair Homicide

Details On April 13, a 22-year-old man charged with the fatal shooting of Adrian Morris appeared for his first day of trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock. Defendant Terrill Johnson was arrested... Read More

Trial Begins for Baltimore Man Charged in 2020 Evergreen Street Shooting Homicide Case

Details “Vigilante justice is not justice at all.” The assistant state’s attorney said to a jury on the first day of trial for a man charged with the fatal shooting of Jazzeind Kasif... Read More

Homicide Trial Begins in 2019 Case of YMCA Director Shot Trying to Keep Burglary Suspects Out of Couple’s Home

Details Jordan Taylor and his wife were sitting in their living room on a late November evening in 2019 when three men shot their way into the couple’s home in Southwest... Read More

Trial Begins for Baltimore Man Charged with Fatally Shooting His Girlfriend and Burning Her Body

Details “Convicting an innocent man for murder is not justice,” said defense attorney Brandon T. Taylor to a jury on April 11, the first day of trial for a man charged... Read More

Trial Begins in 2021 Belair Road Stabbing Case

By Inacent McKeithan [former] - April 5, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Suspects | Victims |

Details “The law does not require us to make the best choices,”said the assistant state’s attorney to a jury before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kendra Y. Ausby on April 4,... Read More

Defendant Was Trying to Protect His Friend During Double Shooting on S. Potomac Street, Defense Says

Details Defense counsel for attempted homicide defendant Mario Diaz admitted that his client was drunk and high when he shot two people outside a bar on S. Potomac Street last year,... Read More

Defendant Accused of Gas Station Shooting Returned Fire After Being Shot in the Back, Defense Counsel Argues

Details Defense counsel for attempted homicide defendant Joseph Moulden adamantly argued on April 4 that his client only returned gunfire in the direction of the alleged shooter after the former was shot in... Read More

Homicide Defendant Was Working at Time of Shooting on North Fulton Avenue, Defense Argues

Details An argument between Robert Davis and Sean Melton Jr. on June 24, 2019, turned fatal on Ruskin Avenue. Both men went their separate ways, but Davis was found fatally shot on the... Read More

Autistic 15-Year-Old Boy Died from Brain Damage, Prosecutor Reveals During Defendant’s Trial

Details Sitting in the courtroom wearing a black floral top and red sweatpants, 33-year-old Stefanie Colon looked up at the ceiling as a Baltimore City prosecutor described the defendant’s role in... Read More

Defendant Shot Victim in the Head Through His Front Door on East Lafayette Street, Prosecutor Says

Details Defendant Ronald Brady Jr. and Desmond Scroggins were having an argument on the night of Sept. 9, 2019. When the Scroggins walked away, Brady followed and, soon after, fatally shot the victim... Read More

Trial Begins in 2021 Snowberry Court Homicide Case

Details “I ask you not to let emotion drive your decision-making,” said defense attorney Jason Silverstein to a jury before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia H. Jones on March 21, during the... Read More

Pregnant Woman Suffered Stillbirth after Defendant Assaulted Her, Defense Argues

Details “He beats the living baby out of her.” Standing before a 12-person jury, a prosecutor with the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office stressed the seriousness of the case against Rodney... Read More

Accused Strip Club Shooter Faces New Jury after Mistrial Last Year

Details Ten months after his mistrial, 29-year-old Jaquan Terrell Burks sat before a new set of jurors on March 9 to face charges in the murder of Emmanuel Cruz in 2018.... Read More

Defendant Planned to Rob Drug Dealer on Flowerton Road, Prosecutor Says at Start of 2021 Murder Trial

Details It was a set-up disguised as a drug deal. A Baltimore City prosecutor cracked open the case of 22-year-old Raekwon Griffin before a 12-person jury on March 8, preparing jurors... Read More

Shooter Confessed to Attempted Murder Outside Hustler Club, Prosecutor Tells Jury

Details Nyeki Glover confessed to an attempted murder on E. Baltimore Street that occurred on the evening of Sept. 17, 2021, a Baltimore City prosecutor told jurors at the start of the... Read More