Victims Were Trying to Return a Neighbor’s Keys When Shot by Defendant, Prosecutor Says

By Andrew Michaels , Alyssia Davis [former] - February 22, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Roderick Daniels and his neighbor were trying to do a good deed on the evening of June 2, 2020, when Daniels was fatally shot and his neighbor injured in Northwest Baltimore’s Grove Park neighborhood.

On Feb. 22, the jury trial of homicide defendant Shae-von Edward began with an opening statement from a Baltimore City prosecutor before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays.

Edward’s defense counsel, Creston Smith, did not give an opening statement on Wednesday.

Around 11:00 p.m. that evening, the prosecutor said, Daniels’ 35-year-old neighbor came home from work to his apartment on the 5600 block of Haddon Avenue, where Daniels, 51, was standing outside. The two men were talking when they noticed one of their neighbors had left her keys in her front door after going inside.

As Daniels and his neighbor knocked on the woman’s door, a man with a gun—later identified as Edward—walked across the street and allegedly opened fire on the two men for knocking on “his girl’s door.”

The prosecutor told jurors that they would hear testimony from a group of women who were nearby and unknowingly parked their car behind that of the shooter. The women, who noted the shooter’s license plate as he drove away from the scene, called Baltimore Police.

“You’ll hear testimony from a medical examiner that Mr. Daniels was shot five times, hitting vital organs, and the doctors could not save him,” the prosecutor said. “[The second victim] was also shot several times [and] will be able to tell you what happened that night.”

Edward’s trial proceeded with testimony and is expected to continue on Feb. 23.