Teen Found Guilty in Execution-Style Murder

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A jury reached a guilty verdict in the first-degree murder charge of a Baltimore City teenager on July 12.

Parris Harris, 19, was found guilty of first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, possession of a firearm as a minor and having a handgun on his person related to the Jan. 26, 2023, incident that resulted in the death of 27-year-old Desmond Gardner.

At trial, the prosecution presented a video of the shooting showing three men, one of which was wearing a blue hoodie and gray New Balance sneakers, chasing Gardner on the 3400 block of Spelman Road before he fell to the pavement and was shot in the head at point-blank range multiple times, suggesting an execution.

Forensic evidence recovered from Harris’s phone showed multiple pictures of him wearing what appear to be an identical hoodie and sneakers. Evidence also showed multiple videos of Harris displaying various firearms, one of which the prosecution claimed to be the murder weapon.