Baltimore City prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a man accused of shooting into a crowd and killing a pregnant woman with a stray bullet.
Kevin Lomax, 20, walked out of Baltimore City Circuit Court a free man Tuesday, after prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to prosecute him in connection with the shooting death of Ashley Harris.
Harris was killed March 31, 2006, while she stood in a crowd outside Club Choices in the 1800 block of North Charles Street. She was six months pregnant, police said.
“We did not have sufficient evidence and witness statements to pursue a homicide charge,” Baltimore City State Attorney?s Office spokeswoman Margaret Burns said.
Lomax?s co-defendant, Oscar Adams, 19, will be tried May 30.
Lomax?s attorney, Margaret Mead, said Lomax merely drove a car from the club when his passenger fired into the crowd.
“He was not involved in this incident,” Mead said of Lomax. “He was driving the vehicle away from the scene when the shots were fired. He was in the car, but he was not shooting and had no knowledge that the shooting was going to occur.”
The incident that lead to Harris? death began at about 1 a.m. when several people got into a fight inside Club Choices and some spilled out into the street, according to police charging documents.
Near the end of the fight, an gunman fired four or five shots from a burgundy Acura, which sped from the scene and with three males inside, including Adams and Lomax, police said. Harris, who stood outside the club, perished in the shooting.
“Witness and family members reported that Harris was merely a spectator to the altercation and did not participate in the fight,” wrote Baltimore Police Officer Sean Jones in his report of the shooting. “It should also be noted that the victim was six months pregnant at the time of the shooting.”
Adams initially told police that Lomax was the gunman, but Mead said that?s not the case.
The attorney added that Lomax is relieved that the charges against him have been dropped.
“He?s a really good kid,” she said.
lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com
