Baltimore County prosecutors have dropped murder charges against the second of two men accused of a 2002 killing in Woodlawn.
All charges were dropped against Nicholas Weaver, 23, a student from a private college in Long Island, who had been indicted in the slaying, after prosecutors said they lacked sufficient evidence to proceed.
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“He’s so relieved,” said Margaret Mead, Weaver’s attorney. “He really is innocent.”
In March, Assistant State’s Attorney John Cox said there was not enough evidence to proceed against the first defendant, Charles Davis, 21, of Baltimore — one of two men accused of murdering aspiring rapper David Baskin, 18, six years ago.
Mead said Baltimore County police relied too heavily on a suspect arrested for a crime in Baltimore City as a source of information in the case.
“This guy wanted help getting out of his charges,” she said of the informant. “That was his main agenda.”
An aspiring lawyer and Eagle Scout, Weaver was pulled from class at Adelphi College on Long Island in February and later charged with the homicide. Baltimore County police in 2002 found Baskin dead on the 2500 block of Elesmere Court due to a gunshot wound.
Detectives conducted several interviews in 2002 but did not glean enough information to charge any suspects. Earlier this year, detectives got a tip and conducted another round of interviews, said Baltimore County police spokesman Cpl. Mike Hill.
Police said the motive for the murder was a feud over a girl who moved out of Baltimore City into the county.
Weaver seemed like an unlikely murder suspect to those who know him: He was an intern at a Baltimore law firm last summer; a clerk in Baltimore City Circuit Court in 2006; a volunteer helping AIDS-infected children; and a Sunday school helper. His father, Jesse Weaver, is a dentist, and his mother, Alice Pinderhughes, is a lawyer. Former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke is a family friend.
“There wasn’t any kid who was more well-behaved and more well thought of than this kid,” Mead said. “This is not somebody who goes out and commits a murder. … It’s sad for the victim’s family, but he did not do it. He was not involved in this incident.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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