Witnesses recall seeing alleged suspect in Maryland neighborhood after Joppatowne High School shooting
Testimony during the trial for a teen accused of carrying out a deadly shooting at a Maryland high school suggests he may have passed the murder weapon off to another classmate.
Jaylen Prince, 16, is being charged as an adult for shooting and killing Warrent Grant, 15, at Joppatowne High School in September 2024.
During the fourth day of his trial, Friday, the jury heard from witnesses who said Prince ran and hid in a nearby apartment complex after the deadly shooting unfolded in a school bathroom.
2024 Joppatowne High School shooting
According to classmates who testified in Prince's trial, the shooting at Joppatowne High was prompted by an argument over a girl.
A boy who said he was close friends with Prince testified that the suspected shooter was seen flirting with Grant's girlfriend.
He recalled how he relayed a message from Grant to Prince telling him to stay away from the girl. Prince seemed agitated after the interaction, the friend told jurors.
Later on that day, Prince and Grant got involved in a fight in the men's bathroom, during which Prince threatened to kill Grant before pulling a gun from his backpack and firing, witnesses said.
The weapon used in the shooting has not been found.
Witnesses recall seeing Prince after Joppatowne High shooting
On Friday, Juan Cortez took the stand and recalled a conversation he overheard from a person in the hallway of his apartment on Riley Court, just across the street from Joppatown High.
Cortez said he heard the phrases, "Hurt him," "Shot him," and "I messed up my life."
"I was alarmed," Cortez told the jury. "That's not something I typically hear passing my front door."
He said he called 911 immediately.
Sgt. Gregory Dietz with the Harford County Sheriff's Office responded to that call. His body camera footage was played in court, showing the day that deputies spotted Prince hiding under a stairwell.
Dietz recalled that Prince only had a phone and a backpack, but a gun was not found.
The jury also heard from John McNamara, who lives on Joppa Farm Road, which backs up to the school.
His Ring doorbell camera captured Prince walking through his backyard as he was on the phone.
Analyzing Ring doorbell video
Harford County Sheriff's Detective Patrick Ross testified about analyzing the Ring video captured by McNamara. Ross said he slowed the video, sped it up and adjusted the pitch.
He believes Prince said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Toss that f******* gun in the water, real s***."
The prosecution also went through other pieces of video evidence with Det. Ross, including a screenshot of what Ross called direct eye contact between Prince and Grant as Grant went to the bathroom minutes before the shooting.
The defense argued that when the video is watched in real time, the two teens couldn't have seen each other for more than a split second before Prince went into the bathroom.
Video surveillance also showed Prince interacting with another student outside of the school's entrance after the shooting. The student appeared to reach into Prince's backpack.
It is unclear if he took anything from the bag.
The state's attorney's office said that the student has not been charged with any crimes.
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