Jurors delivered a mixed verdict on March 23 in the case of Phillip Morton, a Baltimore man charged in a deadly triple shooting that left a teenaged boy dead at a Glen Oaks Subway restaurant almost seven years ago.
The verdict was reached three days after counsel concluded their closing arguments before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey M. Geller on March 20. Earlier in trial proceedings, the court had dismissed 27 of Morton’s initial 38 charges. No reason was disclosed for the dismissals.
On March 23, jurors convicted Morton on five of his remaining 11 charges. He is now set to be sentenced July 23 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, firearm use and two counts of first-degree assault.
Meanwhile, the defendant was acquitted of four counts, including two counts each of armed robbery and first-degree assault. No verdict was reached on his charge of second-degree murder, nor on his remaining count of firearm use.
The state’s case at trial centered on ballistic and cellphone evidence that linked Morton to the death of 16-year-old Travis Chance, who was fatally shot July 11, 2019. Two other non-fatal shooting victims were located at the Subway restaurant on the 5600 block of The Alameda, where the shooting occurred. Investigators recovered 24 shell casings from the scene and concluded multiple guns were used in the incident.
Prosecutors also pointed to a letter Morton wrote while incarcerated, claiming it contained a written confession admitting to Chance’s murder.
Judge Geller is set to preside over Morton’s sentencing hearing in July.
