Trial Concludes in East Patapsco Avenue Shooting

By Sarah Mullen [former] - April 13, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn presided as the jury heard closing arguments in an East Patapsco Avenue non-fatal shooting case on April 12. Co-defendants Trey Allen and Tyree Boone, both 33, were represented by defense attorneys Michael Tomko and Roya Hanna respectively. 

Both defendants are charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, having a handgun on their persons, having a handgun in a vehicle, firearm use in a felony violent crime, having a gun within 100 yards of the public, firearm possession with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, firing a gun in Baltimore City, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first- and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first- and second-degree assault, conspiracy to have a handgun on their persons, having a handgun in a vehicle on a public road and conspiracy to use a firearm in a felony violent crime. 

Boone faces additional charges of firearm/drug trafficking and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to manufacture or distribute and conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance with intent to manufacture or distribute.

Counsel debated who fired the first shot on July 26, 2023, around 4:30 p.m on the 900 block of East Patapsco Avenue. Court documents indicate that after the shooting, the co-defendants fled in their white Tesla and later collided with another vehicle near East Fayette Street. 

Tomko framed the incident as a series of choices. He alleged that his client was faced with a Hobson’s choice, in which two options are presented, but the second is merely an illusion.

Boone could have either shot his gun to defend himself or allowed himself to be killed. Later, the prosecutor countered that the defendants could have simply driven away instead of firing their weapons. 

Similarly, the Baltimore Police Department police also had many choices, he said. He argued they chose not to care, collecting four cell phones and never examining them, not testing the white Tesla for fingerprints or DNA and not taking the time to obtain clearer surveillance footage from another establishment.

Hanna built upon Tomko’s argument, adding that facial recognition could have been run on clearer footage. She also pointed out the discrepancies in one officer’s testimony regarding what time Boone and Allen were arrested, claiming that his carelessness in failing to check his notes before court is a prime example of the “shoddy workmanship” in this case.

While Tomko emphasized the lack of evidence that his client possessed a gun on his person or exhibited any “threatening behavior” whatsoever, the prosecutor painted a different picture.

She argued that Boone fired the first shot at the individuals who were standing across the street, for the other shooter’s gun appeared to be jammed. The two also disagreed about the cocaine recovered from the Tesla. Tomko claimed that it could not be directly tied to his client, and that only two of the 138 pieces recovered were actually tested by the crime lab.

The prosecutor accused him of attacking the crime lab technician’s expertise that allegedly enabled her to visually identify the entire batch of suspected drugs without having to test each one individually. 

In her rebuttal, the prosecutor spent significant time highlighting the physical appearance of Boone and Allen at different points of the video footage. She called jurors’ attention to the color of their clothing, physical build, heights and hairstyles to try to match them to their photographs at the time of their arrest.