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By
Shiloh Eschbach [former]
- October 27, 2023
Attempted Murder
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Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Non-Fatal Shooting
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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The prosecutor of a defendant accused of homicide and attempted murder during a drug deal used video footage and recorded statements from the defendant to support their allegations of guilt in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
Joel Ugah is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of firearm use in a felony violent crime, attempted first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, having a handgun in a vehicle and having a handgun on his person.
On Oct. 26, in opening statements before Judge Stephen J. Sfekas, the prosecution put emphasis on a recording of 37-year-old Ugah saying “Bitch shoulda let me dip,” which the prosecution claimed was in reference to one of the victims, Brittany Keyser, and a drug deal that she was involved in during the shooting.
Defense attorney Lawrence Rosenberg didn’t contest that 32-year-old Keyser and her boyfriend were shot during a drug deal, but claimed that there was no way to show that his client, Ugah, was the person who killed them.
Rosenberg also stated that a detective called as a witness had testimony that differed from their previous reports and writing about the incident.
Ugah was tried previously, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict and a mistrial was declared on July 24.
According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, on April 15, 2022, Keyser and a second victim were shot on the 800 block of Gretna Court. Video evidence was used to link the suspect to a car, which Ugah had rented at the time.