The fate of 19-year-old Bishop Chance is now in the hands of a Baltimore jury after closing arguments wrapped on April 27 in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Jurors must decide whether Chance took part in the July 16, 2024, shooting that killed 20-year-old Theodore Burrell at the Westside Shopping Center. Prosecutors said Chance faces two counts of first-degree murder along with a stack of related firearm charges, and jurors are expected to begin deliberating later this week.
Prosecutors told the panel they could link surveillance and physical evidence to Chance, pointing to video that they say shows two men arriving and leaving in a light-colored Infiniti, a crime scene “littered” with shell casings, a dropped .22 handgun, and a blood trail that stretched across the plaza. Jurors were shown photos of Chance and alleged co-defendant Gregory Whitfield, and prosecutors said ballistic testing connected bullet fragments to the wounds that killed Burrell, as reported by Baltimore Witness.
The Shooting and the Victim
According to police, the attack unfolded on July 16, 2024, in the parking lot of the Westside Shopping Center on the 2400 block of Frederick Avenue. Officers arrived to find a 20-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. Witnesses told reporters they saw two people step out of a dark sedan and fire into a crowd, and investigators recovered a gun at the scene, according to WBALTV.
Evidence Jurors Heard
At trial, prosecutors played surveillance footage they say shows one shooter being hit by return gunfire, while the getaway driver runs a red light and crashes. Investigators later found blood on the rear passenger door of the Infiniti and recovered ballistic evidence during Burrell’s autopsy. Jurors also saw hospital surveillance and heard about phone data that investigators extracted under a warrant, which prosecutors argue ties the Infiniti and the defendants to the scene, according to Baltimore Witness.
Prosecutors leaned into their theory of intent, telling jurors, "A bullet in the leg wasn’t going to stop Bishop Chance from achieving his goal; he was going to murder Theodore Burrell." Defense attorney Staci Pipkin pushed back, urging jurors to scrutinize the grainy surveillance video closely and arguing that it does not clearly identify her client as the shooter.
What’s Next and the Legal Stakes
The jury is expected to begin deliberations this week on charges that carry some of Maryland’s toughest penalties. Under state law, a conviction for first-degree murder can result in life in prison or life without the possibility of parole, according to the Maryland Code.
