A Baltimore man accused in a fatal parking-lot shooting near the Arundel Mills movie theater complex last year was acquitted Monday following a week-long trial.
Dontay Fitzgerald, 46, has been released from jail since a jury found him not guilty of murder and weapons charges in the death of 31-year-old Harlem, New York, resident Yant Junior Gomez, defense attorney Donald Wright said.
“We are pleased with the verdict,” Wright told the Capital Gazette on Tuesday, adding that Fitzgerald was happy to be back with his family.
In a statement, Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said the “challenging case” relied on its one eyewitness and circumstantial evidence.
“My office will always pursue tough cases, and, unfortunately, this victim and his family did not receive the justice they deserved,” she said.
During the trial, Anne Arundel County Assistant State’s Attorney Marot Williamson said that on Sept. 13, 2024, Gomez and his friend, Emmanuel Rodriguez, met up with Fitzgerald outside Arundel Mills to sell Fitzgerald 2 kilograms of cocaine.
Williamson said Fitzgerald got into the back seat of Gomez’s BMW, with Gomez and Rodriguez sitting in the front. She said Fitzgerald told Gomez, “Don’t f—ing move” and “Put your hands on the steering wheel” before shooting him in the back and fleeing the scene.
Wright told jurors Rodriguez was the one who shot Gomez. He said Rodriguez, who was given immunity by the state for his testimony in the trial, gave “contradicting” statements to investigators and appeared to be holding a black object in his hand when he ran from the car that night.
Wright said there was no evidence that Fitzgerald had a weapon on him that night.
During his testimony, Rodriguez said he didn’t have a gun on him and the object in his hand was a bag.
Rodriguez said he and Gomez met with Fitzgerald to sell Fitzgerald fake drugs. He said that during the deal, Fitzgerald eventually got in the back seat of their car and pulled out a gun.
“I feared for my life,” Rodriguez said in his testimony.
Rodriguez said Gomez tried to open the car door and Fitzgerald let off a shot. “It was fast,” Rodriguez said, adding that he got out of the car and ran toward the mall, not knowing his friend had been shot.
Wright told the Capital Gazette that Fitzgerald also took the stand during the trial. Wright said his client told jurors that during the deal, he learned the drugs were fake and, following a struggle for the bag of money Fitzgerald was going to use to pay for the drugs, Rodriguez pulled out a gun. Wright said Fitzgerald told jurors he grabbed Rodriguez’s arm and the gun discharged, shooting Gomez.
Leitess said in her statement that the immunity Rodriguez received when testifying was for drug-related charges and “not for any involvement in his friend’s death.” However, she said that neither police nor the State’s Attorney’s Office “ever believed” Rodriguez was responsible for Gomez’s death.
Wright told the Capital Gazette that Fitzgerald has maintained his innocence since being charged with Gomez’s death. He said he thought that Anne Arundel County Police Detective Juan Honesto was “fooled” by Rodriguez.
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