Squeegee worker charged in fatal shooting feared for his safety, lawyers say; Teen denied bail
BALTIMORE -- Lawyers for a teenager charged in the fatal shooting of a man wielding a bat at a downtown Baltimore intersection last week said the boy feared for his life and that his first-degree murder charge should be dropped.
The teenager, who attended high school in Baltimore City but lived in Essex, was denied bail Friday afternoon after the judge deemed him a danger to the public.
Timothy Reynolds, 48, died July 7 after he was shot during a dispute with squeegee workers near the corner of Light and Conway streets.
Police said there was an initial confrontation between the workers and Reynolds, who parked his car and got out armed with the bat. He was advancing toward the group when he was shot, police said.
The 15-year-old suspect was arrested and charged Thursday in Reynolds' death. In addition to first- and second-degree murder, he faces assault and gun-related charges.
The prosecutor in the case alleged Friday that Reynolds was surrounded by 3 squeegee window washers and had been hit by a rock and became disoriented when he was shot, according to WJZ investigator Mike Hellgren.
His attorneys, J. Wyndal Gordon and Warren Brown, said in a news conference Friday they have a strong case for the teen.
Gordon said his client believes he was in immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury.
"This case is very defensible. Someone wielding a bat is deadly force," Gordon said.
Brown said "it's unclear who did the shooting," and said his client had no prior criminal, but that he would squeegee on President Street and on Conway Street.
The lawyers claim the teen was making money to support two younger brothers and sister, would make $95 to $200 a day, and that he had been squeegeeing for 7 years.
"He was just out there trying to make some money," Brown said. "Honest money."
The lawyers said the case should be tried in juvenile court, and that the shooting is not first-degree murder. They said they have not yet seen footage of the confrontation and shooting.
The teen suspect's father spoke alongside the lawyers at the press conference.
"He's never been through anything like this," the dad said. "It's a shock to all of us."
