Trial Starts for Ashton Street Murder Defendant 

By Kaliah Green [former] - December 5, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Suspects |

On Nov. 28, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles H. Dorsey III began a jury trial for murder defendant Jerritt Barron. 

Barron, 21, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, possession of a firearm as a minor and having a loaded handgun in his vehicle. 

James Sweeting III represented Barron on Tuesday in Baltimore City Circuit Court. 

The prosecution said that on June 15, 2022, as the victim was sitting on the corner of the 2200 block of Ashton Street, a gold Acura with tinted windows circled the block twice. After the second time, two men came running around the corner firing 14 gunshots towards the victim, striking him four times.

The prosecution then told the court that they will be viewing real time street camera footage, cell phone and photographic evidence as well as witness statements to prove this was first-degree murder. 

In the defense’s opening statement, Sweeting asked the jury to “not just believe all that is being presented to you, but to apply the rules of reasonable doubt.” 

According to Baltimore Witness, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers were called to the 2200 block of Ashton Street around 6 a.m. for a report of a shooting, where 21-year-old Kevin Moody was found wounded. The victim was taken to an area hospital, where he later died. 

Two months after the shooting, Barron’s co-defendant, Antonio Purisima, was arrested and also charged with first-degree murder.