Teen Accused of Cookout Shooting to Stand Trial in July

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Consider making a donation to help us continue our mission.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland set a July 23 trial date for Columbia teenager Xyliq Synzere on March 28 after counsel requested further time to review new evidence.

Synzere, 17, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count each for firearm use in a felony or violent crime and having a loaded handgun on his person and in his vehicle. His charges are in connection to a fatal shooting that occurred on July 26, 2024, when he was 16 years old, on the 1000 block of N. Eden Street. Despite his relative youth at the time of the crime, Judge Copeland noted his charges are too severe for transfer to juvenile court.

Defense attorney Deborah Levi requested a May trial date to accommodate Synzere’s Hicks date of June 2, but the prosecution noted they would be occupied with other matters until July.

Trey Sean Sanders, who was 22 at the time of the incident, was found deceased at the scene with three gunshot wounds to his head.

Investigations revealed that Sanders and four other individuals, one of whom was Synzere, arrived at a cookout at the incident location in a 2014 Acura MDX SUV. Charging documents state that at approximately 11:35 p.m., the group began to walk back to their vehicle. Sanders approached the front passenger door and entered the vehicle, but one of the individuals reopened the door.

Sanders then exited and moved toward the rear passenger side door. Synzere exited the vehicle from the back driver seat, approached Sanders, and shot him in the head multiple times with a 9mm handgun. The vehicle was later found to be registered to one of the four individuals.

Video surveillance footage was retrieved from the New Foodways liquor store located in the 1500 block of Broening Highway and disseminated. Several individuals who were aware Synzere shot Sanders were able to identify Synzere from stills taken from the liquor store’s footage.

Synzere’s trial is set to last five days before Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer.