Water Bottle With Defendant’s DNA Links Him to Murder Outside Westside Pharmacy, Prosecutor Says

By Andrew Michaels - February 16, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A Baltimore City prosecutor argued that a key piece of evidence linking Craig Carter to the murder of Ronald White was a water bottle found at the scene and previously seen in the hands of the 34-year-old defendant a couple of hours before the shooting.

Counsel gave their closing arguments on Feb. 15, and a jury found Carter guilty of White’s murder and three weapons charges the following day before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Ronald Silkworth.

Carter’s sentencing is scheduled for May 8.

During the trial, the prosecution played video surveillance footage from May 17, 2021, outside Westside Pharmacy at the corner of W. Pratt and Harmison streets, where the suspect is seen holding a water bottle, which he places on a nearby ledge. After leaving the area, the prosecutor said, this man—who she identified as Carter—returned and got out of the front passenger’s seat of a white Honda Accord.

“That is a firearm in his hand,” she said, pointing to the courtroom’s television screen.

The defendant then walked out of frame moments later, followed by people running from the area.

The 40-year-old victim was last seen alive at 2:13 p.m. before taking a “rapidly fatal” gunshot to his head, the prosecutor told jurors on Wednesday. Carter’s DNA was found on the water bottle, and five shell casings and one bullet fragment were also found at the scene.

“[The firearm] looks to me like a black bag,” defense attorney David Walsh-Little countered during his closing argument. “…I think [the prosecution is] reaching because they don’t have strong evidence that Craig Carter committed this crime.”

Walsh-Little also argued that DNA could be transferred and that someone else could have shaken hands with Carter and then grabbed the water bottle.

“You can’t convict someone of a crime if you don’t know what happened,” he concluded.