Two Men Acquitted of 2020 Attempted Murder

By Dalen Berry [former] - December 5, 2022
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

A jury found two co-defendants not guilty of attempted murder in connection to a shooting more than two years ago.

Jamal Simmons and Christopher Winchester were found not guilty on Dec. 2 after a day of deliberations.

Defense counsel and the prosecution presented their closing arguments to the jury on Dec. 1 at Baltimore City Circuit Court before Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer. 

Simmons, 29, and Winchester, 26, both faced charges of attempted murder, assault, and weapons charges in connection to a crime in October 2020. 

During closing arguments, the prosecutor reiterated to the jury how the co-defendants allegedly conspired to attempt to kill the victim. The prosecutor recalled “a hail of bullets” raining upon the victim on Oct. 15, 2020. 

The prosecutor stated that at 5:00 a.m., the victim was guarding a ballot box, when two men approached the victim’s vehicle. The victim rolled down his window and was shot numerous times by two assailants.  

The prosecution reminded the jury of previously shown video evidence and the statement made by the victim describing the attackers while in the hospital.

The video evidence showed the defendants before and after the shooting. In the video, the prosecution stated both defendants matched the description from the hospital statement on the day of the incident.

Defense counsels Tony Garcia and Alan Cohen, both argued that there was insufficient evidence in the case, citing the lack of DNA fingerprints, facial recognition in the video, motive, or a single video of the defendant entering or exiting the vehicle.