Trial Begins for Double Shooting of 2 Brothers

By Andrew Michaels - August 13, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

The trial of a 20-year-old Baltimore man accused of attempted murder began in the late afternoon on Aug. 12 before Judge M. Brooke Murdock, following a six-hour jury selection process.

James Phillips is facing attempted murder charges in connection to allegedly shooting two brothers on Nov. 11, 2019, outside Grocery Deli and Carry Out, which is located on the 3400 block of Belair Road.

In addition to two counts of first and second-degree attempted murder, Phillips is also charged with first and second-degree assault, firearm use in a violent crime, and reckless endangerment as well as one count of illegal possession of a firearm, minor in possession of a firearm, having a handgun on his person, carrying a handgun over 100 yards, discharging a gun in the city, and illegal possession of ammunition.

Thursday’s proceeding followed Judge Murdock’s denial of several motions on Wednesday, including the defense’s motions to exclude the victims’ identification of Phillips, his pending gun possession charges, and some of his jail calls between December 2019 and August 2020.

However, Judge Murdock granted the defense’s motion to sequester witnesses and alternate strikes.

Before the start of jury selection on Thursday, Phillips’ defense attorney, Jonathan Kerr, said he wanted the record to reflect that his client previously rejected a plea of 15 years for first-degree attempted murder and five years without the possibility of parole for firearm use in a violent crime. The plea also included the dismissal of Phillips’ handgun charges in two pending cases.

Jury selection began at approximately 9:30 a.m. and ended around 3:30 p.m., with 12 jurors and two alternates presiding.

The trial began with opening statements from the prosecution and the defense.

The prosecution informed the jury that a Baltimore Police officer responded to a shooting just after 5 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2019, when he arrived at the corner deli and found a man with a gunshot wound to his left arm and left hip. Another victim, the man’s brother, was found by a medic about a block away with a gunshot wound to his arm.

Two shell casings were also found outside the deli in the street and on the outside wall of the deli.

According to the prosecution, the shooting occurred outside the store in an area obscured from nearby video surveillance. A man in a peach-colored hoodie had allegedly been following the brothers around the block, in and out of the store, and then into this area.

The defense proceeded to tell the jury that Phillips “did not shoot anybody” and that the case would revolve around three things: missing video, misidentification, and misdirection.

Since the shooting was not captured on camera due to a blind spot in the surveillance video, Kerr said the jury would not see who shot the two brothers. He also noted that the victims didn’t know Phillips but identified him as the shooter, and that the prosecution would use excerpts of the defendant’s jail calls to misdirect the jury.

Judge Murdock adjourned for the day following the testimony of a BPD officer who responded to the scene. The officer confirmed the victims injuries and said he saw two shell casings on the scene.

Phillips’ trial continued to Aug. 13 in courtroom 400 in the Mitchell Courthouse. It is expected to last approximately three days.