Prosecutors to retry man in Edmondson Village Shopping Center shooting

The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office will retry a man accused of opening fire in 2023 on a crowd in the Edmondson Village Shopping Center, killing one high school student and wounding four others.

Daaon Spears, 18, of Edmondson Village, is charged in Baltimore Circuit Court with first-degree murder and related offenses in the mass shooting, which happened on Jan. 4, 2023, outside the Popeyes in the shopping center. His first trial recently ended in a mistrial after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Spears and Bryan Johnson, 18, of Shipley Hill, are both accused of opening fire on the group when they were 16. Johnson is also charged with first-degree murder and related offenses.

“Every single case that you try, there are things you could’ve done differently,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said on “Midday with Tom Hall” on WYPR. “We’ve looked at it, we’re making some tweaks and changes, and I think the presentation to the next jury will be different.”

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

The shooting sent shockwaves throughout Baltimore and sparked calls for sweeping changes at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center.

Meanwhile, Assistant State’s Attorney Rita Wisthoff-Ito has moved to try Spears and Johnson together, writing in court documents that the charges are identical and noting that the evidence required to prove each case is the same.

Combining the cases would also save time, Wisthoff-Ito said.

Spears’ attorney, Brandon Taylor, declined to comment. Roya Hanna, Johnson’s attorney, could not be reached.

Dorsey was a loving and quiet child who enjoyed playing basketball and video games, eating cereal and milk and agitating his sisters and cousins. Loved ones affectionally referred to him by the nickname “Dink,” according to his obituary.

Thiru Vignarajah, an attorney for the Dorsey family, has said loved ones have waited a long time for justice — and were prepared to wait a little longer.