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The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office on Tuesday dropped the case against a former student at Morgan State University who was accused of shooting a classmate in the chest on campus at the end of homecoming week in 2021, citing the inability to locate the victim and another key witness.
Circuit Judge Lynn Stewart Mays entered an order dismissing the case against Marcellus Walls after Assistant State’s Attorney Milos Jovanovic indicated that the remaining evidence was insufficient to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Walls, 19, of Washington, D.C., had been facing charges of attempted first- and second-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, reckless endangerment and related offenses in the shooting, which happened on Argonne Drive near the Montebello Complex on Oct. 23, 2021.
“We’re happy with the fact that the state finally saw their case was weak,” said Andrew Clarke, Walls’ attorney, outside the courtroom in the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse.
“It’s just unfortunate that this young man, who was a freshman in college at the time, had to endure this ordeal,” he added. “Now he has a story to tell for the rest of his life — and we look forward to him doing excellent things in the future.”
Walls, he said, was a freshman and had been incarcerated while awaiting trial. Shala Barney served as co-counsel in the case.
If the case went to trial, Clarke said, the defense planned to put forward witnesses who would have vindicated their client. He described the evidence as unclear and inconclusive.
In a letter to the community, Morgan State University President David Wilson wrote that the shooting happened when crowds were winding down and leaving the campus.
Wilson reported that he spoke with the student, who suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was expected to make a full recovery.
Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement at the time that the arrest “sends a clear message that gun violence will not be tolerated in Baltimore, and those responsible for performing these cowardly acts will be held accountable.”
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a Nov. 19, 2021 statement that “these continued acts of violent crime are unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our communities or members of the Baltimore Police Department.”
“When bad actors commit acts of violence,” Harrison said, “we will find you and hold you accountable.”
An earlier version of this story identified the location of the shooting as Argonne Avenue. It has been corrected to Argonne Drive. The Banner regrets the error.
dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Dylan Segelbaum is the courts reporter at The Baltimore Banner.
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