Posted on 07/25/24
| News Source: FOX45
UPDATE at 3:00PM: GUILTY of First Degree Murder
The family of Efriam Gordon, z'l, an Israeli man who was shot and killed while visiting Baltimore in 2021, is waiting now for a jury to decide the fate of the fourth suspect in the murder.
The accused is 19-year-old William Holloman. His three-day trial wrapped up in a downtown Baltimore courtroom Wednesday with closing arguments--the case now is in the hands of the jury.
Holloman is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, among other related charges, in Gordon's murder. The 31-year-old man was gunned down during an attempted carjacking outside his family's home on Fords Lane in May 2021.
Dovid Reyder, Gordon's cousin, was in court this week, each day, for Holloman's trial. He sat through what he called tough testimony as prosecutors presented their case.
"It brings it all back, it makes it all real," said Reyder. "The body camera video from police, that one I actually couldn't watch. I turned away, (it showed) Efriam lying there on the floor gasping for his last breath and he didn't make it of course."
Gordon, who's from Israel, was visiting relatives in Baltimore for a cousin's wedding when prosecutors say Holloman and two other accomplices, 19-year-old Rasheed Morris and 20-year-old Omarion Anderson--both young teens at the time--approached Gordon that night and demanded he give them the keys to his car.
Prosecutors say when Gordon refused, he was shot then the suspects ran away.
It was a deadly shooting that rocked a community.
Baltimore City Councilman Isaac "Yitzy" Schleifer represents the district where the shooting happened. Schleifer, who was in court for the trial this week, says that the case resonated across the city.
"Well first, you have somebody who is visiting Baltimore for the very first time in their life and they're brutally murdered in a robbery incident. And so that's something that terrifies everybody," said Schleifer.
During the investigation police released surveillance footage of the suspects who were caught on camera. During closing arguments, prosecutors showed a segment of that video to the jury.
Anderson and Morris, already have pleaded guilty for their roles in the crime. Both of them testified for the prosecution in Holloman's trial saying, among other things, Holloman handed the gun to Morris, the alleged shooter.
Another defendant, William Clinton III has also pleaded guilty.
After closing arguments in Holloman's case Wednesday afternoon, the jury got the case.
The family is waiting now for a verdict.
"We live in a country where we trust the judicial system and we hope that the jury makes the decision based on the facts, based on truth and comes up with the right outcome," said Reyder.
In her closing argument Roya Hanna, Holloman's defense attorney, brought the credibility of Holloman's co-defendants into question. Hanna suggested to the jury, that they're testifying against Holloman to benefit themselves.
Jury deliberations resume Thursday morning.