Mistrial declared in mass shooting at Edmondson Village Shopping Center

A Baltimore judge declared a mistrial on Thursday after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in the case of a man who’s accused of opening fire in the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in 2023, killing one high school student and wounding four others.

Daaon Spears, 18, of Edmondson Village, faced charges including first-degree murder in the mass shooting, which happened on Jan. 4, 2023, outside the Popeyes in the shopping center. At the time, he was 16.

Deanta Dorsey, a 16-year-old sophomore at nearby Edmondson-Westside High School, was killed in the shooting.

His obituary described him as a quiet and loving child who liked playing basketball and video games and eating cereal with milk. Loved ones affectionately called him “Dink.”

Circuit Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. presided over the trial. Jurors deliberated over parts of two days.

“We will examine the case and evidence presented at trial, as well as any additional evidence, and after speaking with the victims’ families, determine the best path forward to ensure justice for all,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement.

During closing arguments on Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Rita Wisthoff-Ito replayed more than half a dozen video clips that she argued pieced together the moments leading up to the crime and the hours after the shooting. She asked jurors to note the similarities between two figures in each of the clips, including the clothes they wore and the way they walked.

Wisthoff-Ito told jurors they did not need every piece of the puzzle to see the big picture.

Spears and his co-defendant, Bryan Johnson, met up, opened fire and fled the scene, Wisthoff-Ito said. She said they changed their clothes and were seen together a few hours later.

Johnson, 18, of Shipley Hill, remains charged with first-degree murder and related offenses. He was also 16 at the time of the shooting.

Spears’ attorney, Brandon Taylor, argued the state had failed to prove his client’s connection to the crime and victims. Neither his DNA nor his fingerprints were found on physical evidence collected from the scene.

Taylor noted it would have been useful to hear from the four teens who survived the shooting, but they did not testify at trial.

Investigators “didn’t follow their evidence,” Taylor said. Instead, he said, “they followed their theory.”

The shooting sent shock waves through Baltimore at a time when the city was grappling with a devastating wave of gun violence affecting young people.

Dorsey’s death spurred calls for sweeping changes at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center and for Baltimore Police to dedicate as many resources to solving the case as they would if it happened in a whiter, more affluent neighborhood.

An attorney for the Dorsey family, Thiru Vignarajah, later reported that their home had been shot up hours after they appeared at a news conference.

“This family has a deep reservoir of strength and patience. They have waited a long time for justice,” Vignarajah said in an interview after the mistrial. “And they are prepared to wait a little longer.”