Man found not guilty in Edmondson Village Shopping Center mass shooting

Daaon Spears sat stoically inside a Baltimore courtroom as the jury spokesperson announced the verdict.

But when the clerk finished recording the outcome — not guilty on all charges — Spears and his attorney hugged.

Spears, 19, of Edmondson Village, was acquitted on Friday in Baltimore Circuit Court of first-degree murder and related offenses in connection to a mass shooting at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center that killed one high school student and wounded four others.

The jury deliberated for more than five hours.

Prosecutors alleged that Spears was one of two people who opened fire outside a Popeyes in the shopping center on Jan. 4, 2023, killing Deanta Dorsey, 16, a sophomore at Edmondson-Westside High School.

Speaking to reporters outside the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse, Brandon Taylor, Spears’ attorney, reiterated that what happened was a tragedy.

“There’s been a lot of families out here looking for justice for a long time,” Taylor said. “But convicting an innocent kid — with evidence that’s not proof beyond a reasonable doubt — would just be another tragedy.”

Taylor argued at trial that prosecutors were pointing their fingers in the wrong direction.

No witnesses identified his client. Forensic evidence did not tie him to the crime. And Spears did not know the victims and attended a different high school, Taylor said.

At the time of the shooting, Spears was 16. He stood trial in 2024, but a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

His cousin, Bryan Johnson, 19, of Shipley Hill, is charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the shooting. Johnson is set to go to trial on July 9.

Assistant State’s Attorney Rita Wisthoff-Ito argued that Spears and Johnson executed Dorsey, who was shot 16 times.

“No one has a right to take another person’s life,” Wisthoff-Ito said in her closing argument. “Deanta Dorsey should be here today. He should be alive.”

Wisthoff-Ito presented surveillance video that she contended showed Spears and Johnson before, during and after the shooting.

Baltimore Police Detective Marcus Smothers started investigating them after receiving an anonymous tip and searching various databases.

Dorsey was a quiet and loving child who liked playing basketball and video games, according to his obituary. Loved ones affectionately called him “Dink.”

Circuit Judge Lynn Stewart Mays presided over the trial, which started on Feb. 12.

“Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter,” Mays told the jury. “You all gave it your utmost attention.”

In a statement, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates described the verdict as a “painful moment for everyone impacted by this tragedy,” but added that he respected the jury’s decision.

“While the jury has found the defendant not guilty of all charges, nothing about this outcome diminishes the devastating loss of 16-year-old Deanta Dorsey or the lasting trauma experienced by the four other students who were injured,” Bates said.

“Most importantly, our hearts remain with the victim’s family, whose grief and pain continue long after the courtroom proceedings end,” he later added. “No verdict can undo their loss, and we extend our deepest condolences and continued support to them and to all those affected.”

Bates said prosecutors will now shift their attention to the other case.

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, people who attended the trial in support of Spears screamed and jumped for joy.