Convinced by a suspect?s solid alibi, prosecutors dropped murder charges Friday against two men accused of gunning down an Annapolis man.
“One of the alibi witnesses presented compelling evidence that led to the dismissal of charges … With this information, the state cannot in good conscience move forward against Mr. [Ryan] Wheeler,” according to the Anne Arundel State?s Attorney?s office a news release.
Ryan Wheeler, 26, and Keith Brown, 27, both of Annapolis, were charged with first-degree murder following the shooting of Jamore Van Johnson, 39, in October 2006 outside a city apartment complex.
“While the information does not relate to Mr. Brown?s case, the evidence against him is greatly diminished without the possibility of Mr. Wheeler as a co-defendant,” according to the news release.
Kristin Riggin, spokeswoman for the state?s attorney?s office, was unavailable for comment.
Brown allegedly asked Wheeler to kill Johnson because he had been in an argument with Johnson three days earlier over a paintball gun incident, according to the Annapolis police report.
Brown and Wheeler were sitting around 1:15 a.m. on the 1100 block of Madison Street in Annapolis when Brown left, said Brown?s attorney Michael Kaminkow.
Moments later Wheeler allegedly crossed the street, shot Johnson several times and walked away, he said.
Cell phone records also showed that Wheeler and Brown had called each other at least nine times the night of the murder, one of which was two minutes after the shooting, according to the police report.
“The problem is my client and Mr. Wheeler were gym buddies and they socialized together,” Kaminkow said. “If you look at the total cell phone picture, they talked to each other frequently and at strange hours.”
Prosecutors dropped the charges because Wheeler?s attorney presented almost a dozen alibi witnesses saying he was not there at the time of the shooting.
Police declined comment because the case now is considered an open homicide investigation.
