Judge Weighs Admissibility of Gun Photos in Rodgers Forge Shooting Case
Photos of a person posing with a gun unfairly paint a teen defendant in a shooting case as a “thug” and shouldn’t be shown to jurors, a defense attorney argued at a pretrial hearing in Baltimore County Circuit Court Monday.
Kai Wilson and Kamar Thompson, both now 17 years old, are charged as adults with attempted first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery in the Sept. 13, 2024, shooting of Mark McKenzie in the alley of the 400 block of Dunkirk Road in Rodgers Forge.
Police say Wilson tried to rob McKenzie around 11:30 a.m. as McKenzie was cleaning out his car behind his home. Investigators believe Thompson conspired with Wilson, drove the getaway car, and helped clean a small white SUV with bleach after the shooting.
Home security video shows McKenzie, a well-known local youth sports coach, at the back of his car, chatting briefly with a passing neighbor about a minute before a masked person approaches him from behind, pointing a gun. The gunman and McKenzie struggle and one shot is fired. McKenzie falls to the pavement, calling out for help, and the masked person runs away.
McKenzie was shot in the abdomen and critically injured. He was hospitalized on life support for 12 days and in intensive care for 38 days.
Police arrested Wilson and Thompson weeks after the shooting.
The purpose of Monday’s pretrial hearing was to determine the admissibility of photo and video evidence meant to help the state establish the suspects’ identity.
The teens on Monday entered the Towson courtroom together, handcuffed to each other at the wrists, wearing leg chains and red jail jumpsuits.
Judge Michael Finifter viewed additional videos of the teens recorded in the days before the crime, with Wilson wearing a distinctive sweatshirt and Thompson carrying a Louis Vuitton bag.
“One of the primary issues in a court is going to be the identification of both individuals,” Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Darnbrough said.
A photo extracted from Wilson’s phone shows two young men posing with guns. A police detective testified that one of the teens pictured was Wilson and the gun was similar to the one used in the crime.
Wilson’s attorney, public defender Donna D’Alessio, challenged that identification, saying the photo lacked enough detail to positively identify her client.
D’Alessio called the image “more prejudicial than probative.”
“What this really does is make Kai Wilson look terrible, because he’s got these photos on his phone. Whether it’s him or not, it makes him look like a thug,” D’Alessio said. “It’s showing him holding guns. That’s got to prejudice the jury.”
The gun in the photo, which was taken the day before the shooting, is a semi-automatic with a laser sight similar to the one seen at the alley shooting, Baltimore County Police Detective Michael Forish said.
D’Alessio pointed out that the gun from shooting video appeared to be blue, while the gun in the photo looks brown or gray. Forish said criminals often paint guns and alter serial numbers after using them to commit crimes, but he conceded there was no specific evidence that happened in this case. D’Alessio also asserted there’s no way to tell from the photo if the weapon is a real gun or a BB gun.
The prosecution team also showed video from North Lakewood Avenue in Baltimore City of two people wiping down a car with bleach the afternoon of the shooting. Another set of videos allegedly shows Thompson and Wilson inside and outside of Wilson’s home on North Kenwood Avenue, where police say Thompson can be seen with a gun. Wilson is seen wearing a black sweatshirt with the word NEXT on the sleeve, the same one the shooter wore in the alley video.
Finifter agreed to allow a portion of a video of the two teens boarding an MTA bus together two days before McKenzie was shot, but the judge said he needs more time to consider the admissibility of other images.
Thompson and Wilson are scheduled for trial April 20.