Trial was postponed on Feb. 10 for Brian Strawder, who faces 32 charges in connection to an alleged home invasion scheme that unfolded at a Seton Hill residence over two years ago.
The postponement request came from the defense, who informed the court that Strawder’s assigned attorney had taken medical leave. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy approved the request, drawing immediate protest from the 35-year-old defendant. Strawder, who has been in custody since Dec. 27, 2023, told the court he has only met with his legal counsel once during his entire detention.
The defendant’s charges stem from a shooting that occurred Oct. 19, 2023, at a home on the 800 block of N. Eutaw Street. Police responding to the scene found a female tenant inside, suffering from a gunshot wound to her right thigh, as well as a male tenant who had escaped the gunfire unscathed. A 9mm shell casing and ballistic markings were recovered at the top of the home’s staircase.
Area surveillance cameras captured a person said to br Strawder and his 34-year-old co-defendant, Phillip McCoy III, walking toward the house just minutes before the shooting occurred. Investigators later recovered additional surveillance footage from the area of the M&T Bank Stadium that captured Strawder, McCoy and a third alleged accomplice, 33-year-old Kateira Womack, meeting earlier that day at the Horseshoe Casino.
Authorities believe Womack acted as a “lure” in a premeditated plan. After Womack met the male involved at the casino, she reportedly contacted him, asking if she could visit the Eutaw Street residence he shared with the victim. McCoy and Strawder are believed to have broken into the home and opened fire at the tenants shortly after Womack was invited in.
Womack pleaded guilty in November 2024 to her involvement in the home invasion scheme, accepting time served on a conspiracy charge.
Strawder’s trial is now set to proceed before Judge Michael A. DiPietro on April 15.
