State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby Responds After Video Appears To Show Her Give An Obscene Gesture To Keith Davis Jr. Supporter
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A defense attorney is calling on Baltimore's top prosecutor to drop a high-profile case after State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby appeared to give someone an obscene gesture after he voiced his opinion on the Keith Davis Jr. case.
Earlier this week Sean Gearhart said he saw State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby in Harbor East and after expressing support for Davis, Gearhart said Mosby gave him the middle finger.
Gearhart recorded the encounter on an 11-second long video that he shared with WJZ.
"I saw her, I pulled my phone out and then I was walking with my bike holding it in my left hand and I was filming with my right hand and I said free Keith Davis Jr., free Keith Davis Jr., and then at the end turned around to catch her giving me the middle finger," said Gearhart.
The State's Attorney's Office has tried the murder case against Keith Davis Junior 4 times. Protesters have consistently criticized and heckled Marilyn Mosby in public settings.
"She's a public official and part of being a public official is dealing with constituents that may not agree with their actions or even protest. And that is one of the sacrifices that go with being a public official," said Gearhart.
After the encounter on Wednesday, State's Attorney Mosby sent a statement to WJZ stating:
"While I was out with work colleagues, an unmasked male stranger aggressively biked towards me and two female friends and shouted into my unmasked face. As he biked off, I responded the way any normal woman would to a threatening strange man. No woman - elected or otherwise - should be expected to put up with that type of behavior from a man."
Late Friday afternoon, Gearhart sent a follow-up statement to WJZ which reads: "To have the chief prosecutor not be honest about an incident that was caught on video is extremely concerning."
Keith Davis Junior has been tried for the 2015 murder of Kevin Jones four times. There were two hung juries, one overturned conviction, and then he was eventually convicted, but a judge recently granted a request for a fifth trial.
"Mr. Davis is innocent. He and his family have been put through this anguish four times," said Deborah Levi with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. "We believe that it is time for Mr. Davis to come home,"
Davis was sentenced to 50 years in prison. His attorneys want the charge to be dropped.
It's unclear if the State's Attorney's Office will go through with another trial.
Editor's note: This story was updated after a judge granted Davis a new trial.