Charges dismissed against man accused in 4 Portsmouth killings

A Portsmouth judge on Wednesday dismissed all charges against a man accused of killing four people last summer at a Prentis Park boarding house.

Judge Roxie Holder announced her decision at the end of a preliminary hearing for Raymond Gore in General District Court.

Gore, 57, faced four counts of aggravated murder and other related offenses for the June 7 slayings at a boarding house at the corner of Maple Avenue and Randolph Street. His co-defendant and nephew, Antwann Gore, had his charges dismissed by a different judge after a December preliminary hearing.

Killed were Davonta Georgio Lee, 30; Ashley Merricks, 34; Oleisha Deanna Mears, 37; and Samuel Jones, 66. All had been shot multiple times. Jones, however, didn’t die until a few days later.

Holder said while it was a “horrific” crime, she didn’t believe prosecutors had provided enough evidence to establish probable cause that Raymond Gore was involved.

“At best you’ve connected him to one person killed,” Holder told Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Haille Hogfeldt before announcing her decision.

Prosecutors, however, can take the case to a grand jury anyway. They did in Antwann Gore’s case, securing an 8-count indictment against him on murder and gun charges last month after the earlier dismissal of his charges at the lower court level.

Raymond Gore’s supporters in the courtroom began to clap when Holder issued her ruling, but stopped after deputies told them to. Gore expressed his appreciation to the judge, to which she responded, “Don’t thank me, Mr. Gore. It’s not something I wanted to do.”

The witnesses who testified during Wednesday’s hearing included an officer who first arrived at the scene, a medical examiner who conducted autopsies on two of the victims and observed the other two and an inmate who claims he saw Raymond and Antwann Gore at the house that day.

The inmate, Michael Canty, testified he was nearby when he saw Raymond Gore, who he’d known for several years, standing with two men on the corner where the house is. He said he saw Antwann Gore exchange money with another man, then later saw Raymond Gore go to the house and knock. Canty said he saw Merricks open the door, then heard two shots. Canty said he ran after that.

A medical examiner testified all four victims were shot several times. Mears, who was found in an upstairs bedroom closet, suffered the most wounds, with 13 shots to her head, torso and arm. Merricks was found just inside the front door with five wounds, Jones at the top of the stairs with seven and Lee was slumped over a bed in a bedroom with two.

One of the first officers who arrived at the scene said Jones was badly injured but was able to tell him that two young Black men dressed in all black fired the shots. Jones also said he didn’t recognize the men.

Raymond Gore’s defense lawyer, Michael Massey, said the description of two young Black men didn’t match his client, who is 57 and has gray hair, or Gore’s nephew, who is 40. Massey also argued that Canty’s testimony wasn’t credible because he’d made numerous conflicting statements to detectives about what he saw, and admitted he only went to police with the information when he was facing his own charges and wanted to make a deal.

Antwann Gore was released from jail after his charges were dismissed on Dec. 14. A grand jury indicted him on the same charges Jan. 5. Online court records show he has yet to be arrested and is listed as a fugitive.

Raymond Gore had been held without bond since his arrest in August. He will be released from jail now that his charges have been dismissed.