Holt, an innocent bystander, was fatally struck by a bullet during a dispute between two groups in Federal Hill in October 2024.

Richardson faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder of a second shooting victim.

Originally, Richardson was to be tried alongside co-defendant Deshaun Clark. However, a scheduling conflict with Clark’s defense attorney led to a motion for severance, which was granted, allowing Richardson’s trial to proceed separately. Jury selection began Monday, with opening statements heard Tuesday. The state has started calling witnesses to the stand.

In September, the first defendant to stand trial, Alexis Cancel-Soto, was found guilty on all counts.

Investigators reported that the three men opened fire during a confrontation with another man, the second shooting victim, in Federal Hill. Holt, 19, was sitting in her car when she was caught in the line of fire and struck by a bullet, succumbing to her injuries a week and a half later.

Holt’s mother, Roxanne Spath, expressed her feelings after Cancel-Soto’s guilty verdict, saying: “How long it took to deliberate, you can get uncertain where everyone’s minds are with everything. So, just to hear guilty across the board, I was taken aback but definitely blessed, so thank you everybody.” Spath added that she is now preparing herself mentally for the second murder trial, hoping for justice once again.

The state was expected to continue calling witnesses this week.

Clark is scheduled for a hearing later this month.

Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s mayor, said his city is working to expand programs similar to Safe Streets, Baltimore’s flagship gun violence prevention program, utilizing credible messengers. During the event, Johnson heard from other CVI stakeholders in Baltimore, including representatives from the P.E.A.C.E Team, Roca and hospitals.

The P.E.A.C.E Team representatives talked about violence intervention work in schools. Johnson noted that is an area he’d like to see his city tackle next as his program looks to grow.

However, Safe Streets is part of the city’s CVI ecosystem. No representatives of Safe Streets were present at the discussion.

“We showcase Safe Streets so much that I think we wanted to uplift some of the other folks,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said.

Managed through the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), Baltimore’s CVI ecosystem includes other programs and efforts too, like the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS).

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates has remained outspoken about his view of the role GVRS plays in driving down violence. Between 2,500 and 2,600 people “are now no longer on the streets, shooting, robbing and killing” people since he took office, Bates has said.

“Of those, 201 of them were GVRS cases,” Bates previously told FOX45 News. “And what does that mean? That means that GVRS is working, but it’s not the largest part.”

Several programs within MONSE were launched utilizing the one-time, federal COVID-era funding known as the American Rescue Plan. MONSE Director Stefanie Mavronis noted that conversations are underway to institutionalize the work once the funding runs out.

“We’ve slowly but surely seen over the last few budget cycles continued investment in our office and the work that we’re doing,” Mavronis said. “Sustaining and institutionalizing our work is where we’re headed and where we need to be focused.”

According to a MONSE spokesperson, conversations are underway with the city’s budget department for future years and decisions are being evaluated.

“Beyond the City’s General Fund, the City is actively searching for grant opportunities, and philanthropic funding to help support this work without directly diverting funding from our partners at BPD [the Baltimore Police Department],” the MONSE spokesperson continued.

To talk about driving down violence and not include all partners in the effort isn’t providing the public with the full scope, according to John Dedie, a Baltimore area political analyst.

“You could say that there’s a combination, but the lead dog on this has been State’s Attorney Ivan Bates,” Dedie said. “Because if you say there’s been a drop of 150 in the murder rate, but you’ve only had interactions with 50 or 60 people, you’re really not part of the overall big picture of the solution. You’re a small fraction of it. And that’s where I think a lot of people have good questions.”

The crime index, which is based on crowdsourced perceptions of safety rather than official crime statistics, had users complete surveys on categories like public safety and violent crime.

Scores ranged from 0 for very safe to 100 for very dangerous, and sample sizes varied by city.

Memphis, Tennessee, came in with the highest crime index score at 78, making it the city Americans perceive as the most unsafe in 2025.

Following Memphis was Detroit, Michigan, and Baltimore, Maryland, coming in third.

According to Visual Capitalist, both Detroit and Baltimore have struggled with the loss of key industries and jobs, eroding their economic base.

That is believed to have fueled an increase in poverty rates, reducing the city’s capacity to respond and destabilizing communities.

So far in 2025, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said that homicides are down about 50% compared to this time in 2024.

Additionally, the Mayor’s Office said there has been a 10% decrease in aggravated assaults, a 32% decrease in auto thefts and robberies, and a 31% decrease in carjackings.

Have a news tip? Contact the Fox45 staff at news@foxbaltimore.com.

In the 17 days since the National Guard was deployed in Washington, D.C., Baltimore has experienced over 2,500 crimes, including six homicides, nine rapes, 426 assaults, 271 aggravated assaults, 252 auto thefts, 155 burglaries, and 439 acts of vandalism. This surge in crime is nine times greater than the violent crime rate in Washington during the same period.

Residents and business owners have expressed concern over the escalating violence.

“Just brutally attacking somebody is off the case crazy,” one victim said.

Betsy Smith of the National Police Association commented, “I’d think residents would welcome help for their very short-staffed police department.”

The discrepancy between the governor’s statements and the reality on the ground has left many questioning whether crime in Baltimore is truly under control.

“We need to stop acting tough and start getting tough in Baltimore City,” a local resident said.

Smith added, “If the people in Baltimore City want to truly be free, they need to embrace not only their local law enforcement but state and federal partners as well.”

“We’re just giving them the information to let them know what their rights are and what the rights are of their customers and their workers,” she says.

She spoke with FOX45 News remotely on Friday from the Maryland Association of Counties conference in Ocean City, where she raised her concerns directly with ICE’s Baltimore Field Office Director Nikita Baker, accusing her agents of “terrorizing” immigrant communities and “kidnapping” residents.

“I don’t think they’re just going after the worst of the worst, as they have said, I think they’re just going after anybody who’s Brown, and that is racial profiling. That is unconstitutional, and I asked her to stop,” she said.

While Baker argues it’s her “job to enforce the law”, Ramos referenced videos of ICE agents forcefully removing several individuals outside a Baltimore Home Depot and smashing car windows to detain others.

“I don’t know that we’ve ever seen this type of violence against our community, ever,” said Ramos.

But just this week, BPD arrested two undocumented immigrants caught on camera carrying out a violent attack in Canton. In broad daylight, a group of men on motorbikes can be seen swarming and viciously beating another rider, allegedly for stealing their bike. Court documents reveal Winston Rivero-Aliendo, now charged with attempted murder, admitted to stabbing the victim with a screwdriver.

When asked if she supports cooperation with ICE for violent offenders, Ramos said she favors holding them accountable under the law – but would not say whether she supports deportation in those instances.

“You feel that they should be able to stay in this country even if they’ve committed a serious offense?” questioned a FOX45 reporter.

“What I believe is that everybody should be given due process. Everybody should be given their due process rights to face their consequences. And generally, people are here to make a better life for themselves,” Ramos replied.

However, her flyers and immigration policies haven’t sat well with everyone in her community. A business owner in Ramos’s district, who asked to remain anonymous, says she’s sending the wrong message, and potentially, making it harder for law enforcement to remove violent offenders.

“I think that any elected official that can’t come out and say they don’t want criminals here should re-evaluate what they’re doing for our community,” they said.

Have a news tip? Contact news@foxbaltimore.com.

In an interview with CNN, Mayor Brandon Scott fired back, saying the city’s record-low crime stats speak for themselves.

“What he’s doing is dog whistling through this right-wing propaganda, and quite frankly, racist viewpoints,” Scott said. “I think it is very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime.”

Scott argues Baltimore isn’t far gone — rather, it’s far safer than decades ago, stressing a 28% drop in homicides this year alone. Progress Scott attributes in part to his own holistic crime intervention strategies.

“That’s 50 years, a 50-year low,” he says, “The president could learn a lot from us instead of throwing things at us.”

But while the reductions are real, some say Scott is overstating his role.

“The reason we know that is if you look at the first two years of Mayor Scott’s administration, you really didn’t see these reductions. You didn’t start to see those reductions until Mr. Bates took office,” said former Deputy Commissioner of the Baltimore City Police Department Jason Johnson.

Johnson notes crime rates remained high while Scott worked alongside former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, whose progressive nonprosecution policies were replaced in 2023 by Ivan Bates’ tough-on-crime approach.

“If you’re breaking the law, you’re going around with illegal handguns on the street, bring your toothbrush with you because we’re going to send you to jail,” warned Bates when he first took office.

“Bring your toothbrush,” reiterated political analyst John Dedie, “When you say that to people in Baltimore, they know what you mean.”

Dedie also credits Bates for the city’s recent reduction in violent crime, though he’s not surprised to see Scott front and center on the issue.

“Whenever there is good news, a politician will take credit for it, even if they are only in the issue on the fringes,” said Dedie, “It’s what politicians do.”

Regardless of who’s responsible, the city’s crime fight is moving forward, with many insisting it’s the national narrative that needs to catch up.

“The invasion of our borders will end and the restoration of our sovereignty will begin,” Trump said. “Immediately, criminals pouring into our country from countries all over the world, that will stop immediately.”

Local immigration officials, however, are still awaiting details on the new policies and procedures. Maryland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director told FOX45 that the agency expects to receive official direction from the White House sometime next week.

Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five reportedly killed by an undocumented immigrant in Harford County, expressed her approval of Trump’s swift action.

“Knowing they’re targeting illegal criminal aliens as their first priority just makes the American people feel safer and to be able to rest in their own homes,” Morin said.

Meanwhile, some elected leaders in Maryland are preparing to resist the incoming administration’s immigration policies. Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman emphasized the importance of welcoming immigrants.

“I believe that it is very important to welcome immigrants,” Pittman said.

Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor echoed this sentiment, stating, “We refuse to aid and abet outside agencies attempting to detain, deport, or remove any residents from our community.”

Several Democratic leaders across the state have vowed to withhold cooperation with ICE and block what they describe as “mass deportations.”

Betsy Smith of the National Police Association warned that a lack of cooperation with federal immigration law could have serious consequences.

“They’re not going to be able to ignore federal immigration law,” Smith said. “The federal government will prevail because it is against the law to harbor people who are in this country illegally.”

Smith also cautioned that Maryland’s public safety and federal funding could be at risk.

“The federal funding will ultimately dry up, and they’re going to be stuck supporting these massive amounts of illegal aliens, including the thousands that are criminals,” Smith said. “And it’s going to create an untenable situation for the leadership and for the communities.”

Not included in that budget, however, is the additional $1 million Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates requested to help bolster staffing within certain investigative units. Bates asked Scott’s office to unfreeze 20 positions, that he said would be filled by prosecutors working on cases like those connected to the Group Violence Reduction Strategy.

During his budget hearing on May 30, Bates said the major investigations unit would be the one tasked with handling more cases, especially as Scott continues plans for a citywide expansion of GVRS. However, Bates’ additional request was not met in the final budgeting process.

In a statement released following the approval of the budget by the City Council, Bates called the decision not to include his $1 million additional request “disheartening,” and said it showed City Hall “placed public safety and accountability on the back burner in the latest budget.”

“The message is clear that when an agency creates tangible results that save lives in our city, it will be met with no additional investment to build upon the vital work that is undeniably needed. Simply unfreezing the positions, we used to have at this office so that we can operate with a full staff seems like a small request from the prosecutor’s office with the highest case volume in the State,” Bates said via statement. “While we are somewhat perplexed at the outcome, we fully understand the City’s budgetary constraints and remain steadfast in our commitment to being an active partner in Baltimore’s public safety.”

Scott’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Bates’ budget frustrations.