Fate of David Linthicum, accused of shooting Baltimore County officers, in hands of jury
BALTIMORE -- The fate of David Linthicum, who is accused of shooting two Baltimore County police officers last year, is now in the hands of the jury.
After closing arguments, the judge read instructions to the jurors to begin deliberating. A verdict hasn't been reached with deliberations resuming Thursday morning.
Linthicum is facing first-degree murder charges, among others, although 10 of the counts were dropped.
However, most of the serious charges remain, including attempted murder, carjacking, assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, theft of a motor vehicle, unauthorized use of personal property and second-degree assault on a law-enforcement officer.
Linthicum is facing life in prison if convicted of attempted murder.
He is accused of shooting two Baltimore County officers in two days in February 2023. Police said Linthicum's father reported that his son was armed and suicidal, which ultimately led him to shoot Officer Barry Jordan.
The next day, Baltimore County Detective Johnathan Chih was shot during an encounter with the suspect.
During the more than week-long trial, jurors saw videos of the violent encounters and got a glimpse of the AR-15 rifle that was used in the shooting. WJZ obtained the body-worn camera videos from officers, which were used as the centerpiece of the prosecution's case.
"Communication misfire of an epic level"
In her closing arguments, defensive attorney Deborah Katz Levi blasted police for not using their training and said officers should never have been put in that situation.
"If every officer had done what they were trained to do, we wouldn't be here," Levi said.
Levi claimed it was not attempted murder because Linthicum didn't know officers were there during the initial encounter. Levi also said Detective Chih should never have confronted Linthicum alone during a manhunt.
"Detective Chih should never have been put in that situation," Levi told jurors. "He didn't know what he was getting into because his supervisors did not protect him that day."
Levi said police "refused to acknowledge their mistakes" and there was a "communication misfire of an epic level."
She also rejected the prosecution's assertion that Linthicum was "lying in wait" for the officers.
"He was suffering a mental health crisis and needed help, and it went terribly wrong," Levi said. "Linthicum never intended to kill anyone that day."
She asked that they only find her client guilty of stealing Chih's police truck.
"He just wanted to shoot"
The prosecution, in their closing arguments, called Levi's arguments "outrageous" and "insane," and then said Linthicum "hates police."
A prosecutor talked about the body-worn camera videos that showed the encounters with police officers. Prosecutors allege Linthicum fired 30 rounds in two separate encounters with officers.
"This isn't a grand conspiracy. This isn't a cover-up," said Prosecutor Zarena Sita. "The video shows what happened here, and that the defendant attempted to kill four different people."
Sita accused Linthicum of "shooting to kill."
"He just wanted to shoot," Sita said. "The defendant can be depressed and also want to hurt police."
Sita added that Linthicum "terrorized Baltimore and Harford County" and went on a "homicidal rampage."
"If we allow the attempted murder of people who get called to help, if we as a society look the other way when the protectors get gunned down, what does that mean for the rest of us?" Sita questioned.
The prosecutor rejected the defense's criticisms of the police.
"The Baltimore County Police Department is not at fault," Sita said. "The Baltimore County Police Department did not pull the trigger injuring two officers and scarring two more. He did," Sita said of David Linthicum.
