Trial Begins for Man Charged with Murdering 1, Injuring 2 Others

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On Sept. 16, a jury trial for 44-year-old Christopher Ross began before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Middleton.

Ross is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, use of a firearm during a felony violent crime, having a handgun on his person, having a handgun in a vehicle on a public road, and possession of a firearm with a felony conviction.

During opening statements, the prosecutor told the jury that Ross allegedly shot Dante Anderson, 22, and seriously injured two other men on the 200 block of Collins Avenue on the early morning of April 22, 2020.

The prosecutor also said Ross fled the scene after the incident, and his cell phone put him in the area of the crime scene at the time of the shooting.

The prosecution called seven witnesses, including a FBI expert, a firearms analysis expert, and multiple Baltimore Police Department (BPD) sergeants, all of whom testified to the jury about the role they played in the investigation.

There was very little cross-examination of most of the witnesses from the defendant’s attorney, Marci T. Johnson. However, several objections by the defense pertaining to the FBI expert’s report and much of the testimony.

The lengthiest portion was a back and forth between Johnson and the FBI expert regarding the location of the suspect’s cell phone according to towers in the surrounding neighborhood.

Defense counsel argued that there is no way to know the exact location of the cell phone in question based on the FBI agent’s report.

Johnson also said there was no way of telling who was in possession of the phone, as it was not registered to the defendant, which the FBI expert confirmed.

Trial is set to resume Monday, Sept. 19 at 9:30 am.