Jurors Deliberate in Trial of Man Accused of Shooting Teen During Sneaker Sale

*****UPDATE: Rahmel Jones has been found guilty of second-degree attempted murder, assault, armed robbery, and other related charges. Sentencing will be set at a later date.*****

MIDDLE RIVER — Jurors began deliberating Friday in the attempted murder trial of a Dundalk man accused of opening fire on a man who was trying to sell a pair of sneakers.

Rahmel Jones, 23, of Dundalk, is charged with first-degree attempted murder, assault, robbery and other related offenses. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Police say Jones was trying to kill 19-year-old Jose Marquez-Sanchez during a robbery when he allegedly shot at him six times.

Marquez-Sanchez told investigators he was hoping to sell a pair of size 9.5 Nike Air Jordan 11s to an old high school acquaintance at the Wilson Point Park boat ramp parking lot when he was shot.

Once Marquez-Sanchez arrived at the pre-arranged meeting spot around 7:30 p.m., two armed men jumped out of a car and got into his car with him, he testified Tuesday.

Marquez-Sanchez said a Black man wearing a mask got into the car’s back seat and held a gun to his head. He tried to drive away, but the other teen, who was in the front passenger seat, put the car into “park,” he said.

Marquez-Sanchez said that as he tried to flee, the Black man got out of his car and fired a gun toward the driver’s side of the vehicle. Two bullets went through the door of Marquez-Sanchez’s blue 2016 Honda Civic and struck him in the hip and buttocks. Investigators found six spent shell casings at the scene.

Marquez-Sanchez fled to a nearby guard station at Martin State Airport, where a guard called 911. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where he was treated for several hours before being released.

Marquez-Sanchez told police the gunman who shot him was Black and that the other teen in his car — someone he knew from Parkville High School — was Hispanic. He also said the driver, who never got out of the car, was Hispanic.

“The defendant is the only one [of the three suspects] who matches that description,” Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Fish told the jury in closing arguments. ‘It couldn’t have been anyone else."

Investigators used cellphone location data, call and messaging records, and video surveillance footage to identify three suspects.

Baltimore County police arrested two Hispanic juveniles, both 16, along with Jones, a few weeks after shooting.

Jones told police he was at the park that night and heard gunshots but said he never got out of the back seat of the car.

Fish said Jones bragged about the shooting in an Instagram message two days later, writing, “Was just ready to take a n_____’s top off the other night. Lucky my aim wasn’t right.”

Fish said Jones intended to kill Marquez-Sanchez.

“The defendant was consciously aiming for the victim’s head,” Fish said. “…And then, only by virtue of poor aim…was that intent not carried out.”

Fish also played a recording of a jail call in which he said Jones asked his brother, “Did they find the Jordans?” Jones said he was not saying “Jordans” but was saying “George.”

The shoes have not been recovered.

Jurors also saw photos Jones posted on Instagram the day after the shooting showing him posing with a gun similar to one officers found at a co-defendant’s home while executing a search warrant.

Jones claimed the gun was a BB gun and said the photos were taken weeks earlier. He admitted that one of his co-defendants took the photographs.

Defense attorney Ed MacVaugh suggested in closing arguments that Marquez-Sanchez had been pressured to name Jones as the shooter. He asked jurors to consider why the two teens included Jones in their plan that night.

“Maybe they wanted three people in the car when they did this. Maybe they wanted a black guy to blame it on,” MacVaugh said.

Jurors heard three days of testimony and began deliberating around noon Friday.

Jones’ co-defendants are being adjudicated in Baltimore County juvenile court. The status of their cases was not publicly available.