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Accident – Death – Obituary News : : 1. Carroll County DNA evidence
2. Maryland high court DNA claim
A Baltimore man serving a 30-year prison sentence for a 2019 nonfatal shooting in Carroll County has lost his appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court. The court ruled that his claim, arguing that a DNA sample connecting him to the shooting should have been expunged, cannot be brought forward. Prosecutors collected the DNA sample during a separate homicide investigation, leading to a match with the Carroll County shooting. The court remanded the case to determine the legality of the DNA sample collection. The Maryland DNA Collection Act requires the destruction of DNA samples if the suspect is not convicted. Prosecutors and the judge agreed with the court’s decision.
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1. Carroll County shooting case update MD high court
2. DNA evidence Carroll County shooting MD court
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A man from Baltimore who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for a nonfatal shooting incident that occurred in Carroll County in 2019 will not be able to bring his claim to the Maryland Supreme Court. The claim in question revolves around a DNA sample that allegedly connected him to the shooting and should have been expunged.
In an order filed by the Maryland Supreme Court on Wednesday, it was stated that certiorari was granted improperly in the case of Kevron D. Walker. Prosecutors had collected Walker’s DNA sample during a separate homicide investigation, and later developed a DNA profile that linked him to the Carroll County shooting.
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The high court had previously remanded the case back to the Carroll County Circuit Court in a July 2023 opinion, without confirming or reversing the appellate court’s decision that upheld Walker’s attempted murder conviction. The purpose of the remand was to determine whether the DNA sample was collected through a search warrant or taken upon arrest.
During the remand hearing, Walker argued that the DNA sample, which matched the sample from the Carroll County crime scene, should have been expunged in a timely manner. He claimed that the sample was taken when he was arrested as a suspect in a separate homicide investigation. If the sample had been expunged, Walker argued, he would not have been identified as the source of the gun found at the Carroll County scene.
Court’s Ruling
According to court records, the Carroll County circuit judge, Fred S. Hecker, determined that Walker’s DNA sample, which matched the nonfatal shooting crime scene, was the forensic specimen obtained from the gun in the separate homicide investigation. Hecker wrote that the match was not dependent on any other factors.
Prosecutor’s Response
Sandra Lynn Johnson, the state’s attorney for Carroll County, stated that the Maryland Supreme Court dismissed the certiorari as they believed they were resolving an issue regarding a DNA sample taken during a search warrant. However, the sample connecting Walker to the shooting was from a forensic sample found at the scene, not from a search warrant.
Previous Incident
In 2018, the Baltimore City police arrested Walker in connection with a homicide investigation and collected his DNA sample. Subsequently, a search warrant was obtained for Walker’s DNA to further link him to the homicide. After the search warrant was executed, Walker’s DNA was collected, but prosecutors decided not to pursue charges in the homicide case. The sample was destroyed, and all records were expunged in October 2019.
Conclusion
Despite the dismissal of Walker’s claim by the Maryland Supreme Court, the case highlights the complexities surrounding DNA evidence and its admissibility in criminal proceedings. The legal battle over the DNA sample in this case serves as a reminder of the intricate nature of forensic evidence and the impact it can have on criminal investigations and convictions.
