Mass shooting at Edmondson Village mall: Judge declares mistrial

A judge in Baltimore declared a mistrial Thursday after a jury returned a verdict in the case of a man accused of opening fire at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in 2023, killing a high school student and wounding four others was able to reach a unanimous verdict.

Daaon Spears, 18, of Edmondson Village, was charged with, among other things, first-degree murder in the mass shooting that occurred on January 4, 2023, outside the Popeyes at the mall. He was 16 at the time.

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 enjoyed playing basketball and video games and eating cereal with milk. His loved ones affectionately called him “Dink.”

District Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. presided over the trial. The jury deliberated for two days.

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

During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant Prosecutor Rita Wisthoff-Ito played more than a half-dozen video clips that she said stitched together the moments before the crime and the hours after the shooting. She asked jurors to note the similarities between two characters in each of the clips, including the clothes they wore and the way they walked.

Wisthoff-Ito told jurors they didn’t need every piece of the puzzle to see the bigger picture.

Spears and his co-defendant Bryan Johnson met, opened fire and fled the scene, Wisthoff-Ito said. She said they changed 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 years old at the time of the shooting.

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

Taylor noted that it would have been useful to hear from the four teenagers who survived the shooting, but they did not testify in court.

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

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

Dorsey’s death sparked 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 the case occurred in a whiter, wealthier neighborhood.

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

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