Mistrial Declared in Towson Arson Murder Case

𝘈 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹-𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦.
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TOWSON — Jurors were unable to reach a consensus this week in the arson murder trial of a Baltimore man accused of setting fire to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment building.

After five days of testimony and two full days of deliberations, the jury in Dana Hunt’s trial remained deadlocked. Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Patricia DeMaio declared a mistrial Thursday evening.

Prosecutors intend to retry the case. On Friday, attorneys for the state appeared before an administrative judge to request a postponement and a new trial scheduling date, which was granted.

During deliberations, jurors sent several notes to the judge indicating they could not reach agreement on the murder and arson charges. They did report unanimity on the stalking charge.

Hunt, 45, remains charged with murder, arson, stalking, reckless endangerment, and attempted murder. He continues to be held at the Baltimore County Detention Center.

The mistrial comes more than a year after the devastating fire at the Loch Raven Village Apartments on Greenway Road.

The August 26, 2024, fire killed a neighbor, 43-year-old René Lorenzo Trejo, a father of three young children. Trejo managed to wake his family and alert them to the blaze. His wife and children escaped, but Trejo died from smoke inhalation and burns, according to the medical examiner.

There were no eyewitnesses to the crime, and no alibi was established for Hunt.

Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Fuller presented evidence that included:
• Surveillance video of a suspect vehicle in the area before and after the fire was believed to have been set.
• Laboratory analysis detecting gasoline in fire debris in the building’s stairwell and ignitable liquid on items in a car Hunt had driven.
• Burn injuries on Hunt’s arm, calf, and ankles.
• Alleged prior stalking behavior toward Shaquoia Johnson, his ex-girlfriend.
• Alleged deceptive behavior during his police interviews.

Hunt’s defense attorney disputed the state’s evidence, telling jurors Tuesday that the prosecution had failed to meet its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, calling the case “all conjecture.”