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By
Kayla Baize
, Dara Oladapo - September 4, 2025
Uncategorized
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Counsel introduced social media and video evidence as trial opened Sept. 3 for a Baltimore man accused of injuring a male victim during a shooting at a Hamilton Hills gas station in 2023. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Doory presided over the hearing.
Zahlir Daylin Gantt, 22, is charged with two counts each of attempted first- and second-degree murder, felony firearm use, and first-degree assault, as well as four counts of reckless endangerment and several other gun violations for allegedly injuring a 26-year-old male victim during a shooting that occurred Dec. 19, 2023, on the 2300 block of E. Northern Parkway.
“This was a traumatic event that never should have happened,” the prosecution said.
According to the prosecution, the victim was driving to a gas station when Gantt began running toward him while firing a handgun. The victim was struck twice, once in the chest and once in the lower left shoulder, but managed to drive himself to MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was treated for his gunshot wounds.
Detectives arrived on the scene the following day, claiming it was too dark the night of the shooting to investigate. After securing a crime scene, they recovered two .40-caliber shell casings and surveillance footage that allegedly captured Gantt in the area for about one hour prior to the incident.
Baltimore Police issued a lookout alert, and a sergeant familiar with Gantt identified him as the suspect.
Prosecutors also described Instagram posts from an account named “thatty boy” that allegedly showed Gantt wearing clothing identical to the person seen in the recovered surveillance footage.
Defense attorney Bradley Macfee countered that the prosecution failed to prove a clear motive for the crime and questioned their investigative methods.
“According to the state’s theory, the shooting was unprovoked, and the victim was simply just driving around and got shot,” Macfee said. “I’m struggling to make sense of that.”
Macfee noted the prosecution produced “no forensic evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints, no eyewitnesses, or testimony from the victim,” and criticized the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) for waiting until the next day to begin investigating the “too dark” crime scene. He claimed critical evidence could have been tampered with or contaminated prior to investigators’ delayed arrival to the scene.
Macfee stated he reviewed the surveillance footage over the course of a year and does not believe Gantt was present at the time of the shooting.
The trial is ongoing, with additional witness testimony to be presented.