Jury Continues Deliberations in Baltimore County Rape Trial

A Baltimore County jury is set to continue deliberations Friday in the rape trial of a man accused of having sex with a woman while she was incapacitated.

Jamar Beckford, 33, is charged with three counts of second-degree rape and multiple related offenses after a woman said he had sex with her while she was unconscious. The two had gone out together and had several drinks, one of which the woman said almost immediately made her feel unable to walk or talk.

“I felt out of control,” she said on the witness stand. “I felt like I couldn’t control my movements…I just started feeling weird. I remember not being able to keep my eyes completely open. I felt like I was fighting sleep.”

When police interviewed Beckford about a month later, he said he did not know the woman and could not recall anything about the night she accused him of raping her.

Beckford’s DNA was found on swabs taken from the woman’s vagina, according to court testimony Thursday. A nurse with specialized training in sexual assault examinations testified that the alleged victim also suffered vaginal tears and had scrapes on her knees and elbows.

Toxicology screens found no drugs in the woman’s system after she went to a hospital a day after the incident. Police did not collect surveillance video from the businesses the woman said they visited that night, nor did they interview any witnesses other than the alleged victim and Beckford.

Assistant State’s Attorney Kayla York told jurors they should give weight to the circumstantial evidence because there was no direct evidence, such as photos or videos.

“Because that is the nature of these [sexual] offenses,” she said. “They occur in private places…that’s what makes these crimes so insidious.”

Beckford’s defense argued that the encounter was not rape and was simply a case of regret.

“She realized afterward that she didn’t want to have sex,” attorney Hudson Miller said. “You can’t revoke your consent after the act and call it rape.”

Jurors began deliberating midday Thursday and recessed for the evening after 6 p.m.

The woman, who is in her mid-20s, testified that she and Beckford were casual acquaintances when he invited her to a birthday celebration at Round One Entertainment in Towson on May 7, 2024.

She said she felt uneasy, so she called her stepsister to join them. She testified that she had one drink at Round One. The woman said she later drove Beckford to a liquor store and then to a tire shop in Baltimore City. Her stepsister followed them in a separate car, she testified.

The woman said the situation at the tire shop felt “sketchy” and that she wanted to leave. She said she then drove with Beckford to a hookah lounge in Baltimore City, again followed by her stepsister.

At the lounge, she said she had two more drinks prepared by Beckford. She testified that she was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol and did not want another drink, but Beckford prepared one anyway and encouraged her to drink it. She said she took a few sips and began feeling nearly incapacitated within five to 10 minutes.

“I didn’t feel normal,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I could stand.”

Because she was too impaired to drive, the woman’s stepsister suggested Beckford drive her home in her car. Beckford said he would have a friend follow them so he could get a ride back, but the woman testified that did not happen.

Instead, she said, Beckford sexually assaulted her in her car and inside her apartment. She testified that she drifted in and out of consciousness and awoke several times to find Beckford raping her. She said she fell out of the car as he helped her into her apartment, scraping her knees and elbows.

She also testified that she vomited several times. The next morning, the woman said, Beckford told her she had run into her closet door with enough force to knock it off its hinges. She said she had no recollection of doing so.

She testified that Beckford told her she had been acting “weird” the night before.

“He said it sounded like I got drugged,” she said. She said she cried on hearing his assessment of the situation.

She initially testified that Beckford had not tried to have sex with her the next morning, but during cross-examination she said she remembered that he had. She testified that she told him no and that he did not continue.

The two went to lunch later that day, she said. After learning Beckford had not used a condom the night before, they bought Plan B, an emergency contraceptive, she testified.

She later made Beckford get out of the car after they argued about her missing a turn, she said.

The woman testified that she spent the night after the incident trying to piece together what had happened.

The following day, she contacted police and underwent a rape examination at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, which included the collection of swabs for DNA testing. A urinalysis found no drugs in her system. A GBMC nurse testified that such screening is most effective when performed on the first urine produced after a drug is ingested and said she could not determine how long a drug might remain detectable in the woman’s system.

Detectives from the Baltimore County Special Victims Unit interviewed Beckford about a month after the incident. Beckford said he occasionally spent time at the tire shop and hookah lounge but could not recall being with the woman. When shown her driver’s license photo, he said he did not recognize her.

A DNA analyst testified Thursday that a profile matching Beckford was found on the woman’s vaginal swabs.

THE DEFENSE

Beckford’s defense team pointed to inconsistencies in the woman’s testimony and argued that she had not been truthful about what happened. Miller told jurors the woman was conscious enough to provide Beckford with her home address and tell him when he had pulled into the wrong driveway.

He also asked jurors to consider why no other witnesses from that night testified and why no surveillance footage from any of the locations was introduced.

“The state hasn’t given you the puzzle pieces you need to make it a clear picture,” he said. “The puzzle pieces we do have mainly come from [the alleged victim] herself.”

York told jurors the case involved an abuse of trust and taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability.

“It is clear that the victim…was physically helpless and the defendant knew she was in that state …and took advantage of it,” York said.

Beckford did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses.