A Baltimore City Circuit Court jury began deliberating Monday in the case of William Andre Stewart III, a 27-year-old accused of involvement in two separate fatal shootings that left a teenager and a 19-year-old man dead. Closing arguments wrapped up before Judge Dana Middleton, with defense attorney Deborah Warner-Dennis telling jurors that “proximity does not prove participation” as she pressed on gaps in the prosecution's case.
Stewart is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit murder, reckless endangerment, firearm use in the commission of a violent felony, and weapons offenses, according to Baltimore Witness. He is accused in the shooting death of 19-year-old Manuel Luis, who prosecutors say was shot six times inside his vehicle in the 4700 block of Loch Raven Boulevard during an attempted robbery. He is also accused in a second shooting at a Subway sandwich shop in the 5600 block of the Alameda in Glen Oaks, where 16-year-old Travis Chance was killed and more than 20 shots were reportedly fired.
Prosecutors told jurors that investigators recovered six .40-caliber shell casings at the Loch Raven Boulevard scene that were consistent with bullets found at the second shooting, tying the two incidents together. Surveillance footage from the Subway shooting reportedly did not reveal identifying features of the shooter, while the defense challenged cellphone-location evidence and pointed to a lack of DNA evidence linking Stewart to the shootings.
Defense Zeroes In On Missing Physical Evidence
Warner-Dennis spent much of her closing argument focused on gaps in the prosecution's evidence linking Stewart to either shooting. She noted that investigators did not recover the suspected firearm or ammunition from Stewart's home, nor did they recover the black hoodie, white tennis shoes, or yellow t-shirt allegedly worn by the shooter.
DNA recovered from the alleged getaway vehicle was reportedly linked to Stewart's alleged co-conspirators, but not to Stewart himself, according to the Baltimore Witness report. The defense also challenged the cellphone location data prosecutors used to place Stewart near the crime scenes, arguing that the general vicinity shown in that data also included his own home. Earlier expert testimony in the trial had established that the cellphone location data reflected only a general vicinity that could be wider than initially indicated.
Prosecution Pushes Back on Phone and DNA Arguments
Prosecutors rebutted the defense's arguments about insufficient DNA evidence, telling jurors it was insignificant because Stewart had voluntarily admitted being inside the vehicle linked to the second homicide. On the cellphone issue, prosecutors argued that Stewart's phone was turned off during both shootings, but the defense noted that phone records only showed status and location when an incoming or outgoing call occurred, making it difficult to determine precisely when the phone was powered down. The prosecution did not directly address the defense's argument that the cellphone data's general location also encompassed Stewart's home.
Case Follows String of Convictions for Co-Defendants
The Subway shooting that killed Travis Chance has already produced convictions for two other men. A separate account from Baltimore Witness describes William Andre Stewart III as charged alongside Diamante Teal and Phillip Morton in that 2019 case, with Teal represented by defense attorney Jason Rodriguez. That report ties the Subway shooting to a July 11, 2019, attack that killed 16-year-old Travis Chance and injured a married couple, though it also lists Stewart's age as 26 — a discrepancy with the 27 years old given in the current trial reporting.
According to WMAR-2 News, Phillip Morton drove the car carrying Teal and the alleged second shooter, identified in that report as William Stewart, while the two shooters fired 24 total rounds at the teen using an assault-style rifle and a .40-caliber handgun. Two women nearby were struck by gunfire and survived — one waiting in line with her daughter was hit in the leg, while the other was struck in the ear.
A jury convicted Diamante Teal of all charges after a six-day trial, the station reported, and Phillip Morton was convicted of his role in the shooting in March. Morton was later sentenced to life imprisonment plus 60 years, a term imposed by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeffery Geller that included consecutive terms for conspiracy and two first-degree assault counts, along with probation for firearm use in a felony crime of violence, according to a separate Baltimore Witness report. Teal's sentencing is scheduled for August 13, 2026, while Morton's sentencing date was listed as August 11, 2026, per the WMAR-2 News account.
With closing arguments complete, Stewart's fate now rests with the jury weighing competing narratives: a prosecution pointing to phone activity, matching shell casings, and an admission about the alleged getaway vehicle, against a defense insisting that living near a crime scene is not the same as committing a crime.
