Jury acquits man of murder in fatal 2021 city shooting

Jordan found guilty of two counts of misdemeanor assault; shooter still at large

A Baltimore jury on Tuesday acquitted a man of murder and conspiracy charges stemming from a fatal shooting in February 2021, finding him guilty of just two counts of misdemeanor assault.

Darrius Jordan conceded he assaulted 52-year-old Guy Thomas twice — inside and outside a liquor store in the 1900 block of Edmondson Avenue — but he never wielded or fired a gun during the fatal encounter.

He arrived at the scene of the homicide with the man who shot Thomas and left with the gunman and a woman who was driving a black SUV. Jordan said he’d barely known the man and that he had no idea the shooter would kill Thomas and leave him for dead on the snowy sidewalk.

Baltimore police detectives repeatedly pressured Jordan, 33, to give up the identity of the shooter to no avail, and city prosecutors brought the murder case against him by relying on the legal concept that an accomplice can be just as culpable as the person who committed the crime.

Jordan’s attorney, Roya Hanna, teased out during trial things investigators didn’t do to find the shooter: A police forensic firearms examiner testified that she never checked a database to see whether the fired shell casings’ unique markings matched those left by other firearms used in crimes. The lead detective said they never downloaded the contents of Jordan’s phone to check for a deeper connection between him and the shooter.

At one point, Hanna asked the lead detective how much information Jordan would’ve had to have given in order to not be charged with murder. In lieu of the identity of the shooter, Hanna told the jury, investigators took the evidence they had and injected speculation about what it meant when their investigative work fell short.

“They took one little thing and made up one big story,” Hanna said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Maylor focused many of his comments and much of the state’s case on video of the fatal shooting and the events leading up to it. He also highlighted how Jordan’s account changed over roughly three hours in an interview room at the Baltimore Police Department’s Homicide Unit, all of it videotaped, and again when Jordan took the stand in his own defense.

The footage of the crimes is chilling. A black SUV pulled up in front of the Uptowne Bar, and the back passenger’s door popped open. Thomas and a man who walked with a cane approached the car. The men made hand-to-hand exchanges with an occupant of the vehicle. Thomas and Jordan, who got out of the back seat, walked into the liquor store.

The video had no sound. Inside, Jordan confronted Thomas. The argument seemed heated. Then, Jordan hit him repeatedly with an open hand, shoved him to the ground and kicked him multiple times.

The store clerk testified that she told Jordan to stop and that he apologized. But the men continued to argue with animated hand gestures. They went outside and approached the car Jordan arrived in.

There was more discussion. Then, suddenly, Jordan punched Thomas and threw him to the ground. He kicked and stomped Thomas three or four times.

Around the time of Jordan’s last kick, a hooded man emerged from the SUV. He ran around Jordan and shot Thomas in the head twice. Jordan and the man got back in the car; the muzzle flashed from the front passenger’s seat three more times as the black SUV drove away.

Paramedics pronounced Thomas dead around 1 a.m. Feb. 12, 2021. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds. One of the three shots — a bullet to the back of the head — would’ve been immediately fatal, a state forensic pathologist testified. The doctor said he recovered a bullet fragment from Thomas’ hip.

The firearms technician matched the fragment to the other casings recovered at the scene. They did not test any of the casings for DNA or check them for fingerprints.

Jordan told detectives and then testified that he gave Thomas a few dollars to buy drugs because Thomas claimed to be short on money and suffering from withdrawal. When Thomas pulled out cash to pay for a beer inside the store, Jordan said he noticed Thomas had more money than he let on. Jordan was intoxicated and incensed, saying he felt like he’d been scammed. That’s why he said he beat up Thomas.

At trial, Jordan testified that he didn’t know what the front-seat passenger was going to do, nor that the man was armed, and never wanted Thomas to die. Jordan said he was done beating up Thomas when the shooter did what he did.

“He was killed because the man in the car was crazy,” Jordan said Tuesday at the end of his heated testimony.

Circuit Judge Lynn Stewart Mays on Monday dismissed the jury early and ordered sheriff ’s deputies to take Jordan back to a holding cell after he became frustrated during his testimony. Another judge declared a mistrial Wednesday when a relative of Thomas charged Jordan after seeing video of his dead family member. During the new trial, Mays told family to leave if they felt their emotions elevating.

Video from Jordan’s interview showed detectives pressing him about why he didn’t speak up to police or give up the name of the man who shot Thomas. Jordan said he was afraid for his and his family’s lives after witnessing the man execute Thomas over a few dollars. When detectives left him alone, Jordan paced the room and expressed disbelief about the situation, remorse for his drinking and fear of retribution.

“I’m getting charged with murder for fighting a guy?” Jordan said, claiming to be a victim, too, because the shooter pointed a gun at him in the car and told him to keep his mouth shut after the callous homicide. “I beat up the guy; that’s all I did — I didn’t want nothing else to happen to that guy.”

Maylor seized on the fact that Jordan said it was a fight, noting that Thomas hadn’t been able to fight back and was caught off guard. He said Jordan was responsible for Thomas’ killing because Jordan coaxed Thomas back outside to the car, where the front-seat passenger was armed. Maylor claimed to know — but had no evidence to support — that Jordan planned for Thomas to be killed.

“Just because he wanted to make sure Mr. Thomas didn’t go home and enjoy his gift, he made sure Mr. Thomas wouldn’t enjoy anything else in his life,” Maylor told the jury in his closing argument, describing the killing as “extremely” coordinated. “That is why the evidence shows that Mr. Jordan is guilty of murder in this case as an accomplice.”

Mays instructed the jury for accomplice liability: Jurors could find Jordan guilty even if he didn’t commit the acts required to constitute the crimes of murder or using a firearm in the commission of a felony, but the prosecutor had to prove he knowingly aided or encouraged his accomplice or communicated that he was ready to lend support.

Hanna told the jury there wasn’t evidence of any of that, but rather Maylor and the detectives were making assumptions based on what they saw on video. She said her client was completely caught off guard by the shooting and that he accepted responsibility for beating up Thomas.

“He was as shocked as anyone else; he was terrified,” Hanna said. “He understands he assaulted Mr. Thomas, in the second degree.”

Jordan is scheduled to be sentenced April 21. Second-degree assault carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of incarceration.