Jabre Griffith murdered Ernest Hall and Micah Strong and shot six other individuals in March of 2023

Baltimore, Md. (February 18, 2025) - Today, Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates announced that defendant Jabre Griffith was handed down a sentence by a Baltimore City judge of two Life terms plus 120 years for the murders of Ernest Hall and Micah Strong. Griffin also non-fatally shot six other victims. The defendant was found guilty in November of 2024 of two counts of First-Degree Murder, six counts of Attempted Murder, eight counts of Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence, and Use of a Handgun under the age of 21. Assistant State's Attorneys Tonya LaPolla and Victoria Yeager prosecuted this case. 

“I do not take a sentence of this length lightly when it is imposed on a defendant, but when someone so clearly has no regard for the lives of others, it is without question that they are a threat to the safety of our entire city,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “It is a miracle more people weren't killed during Mr. Griffith's rampage of violence and destruction, and it is especially tragic that one of the victims was a juvenile who will forever be changed by this experience. I want to thank my homicide team for their work on this case, which is still ongoing as we prepare for the co-defendant's trial in March.”

On March 23, 2023, at approximately 12:04 a.m., Baltimore Police officers responded to the 2800 block of Edmondson Avenue for a Shot Spotter alert. Upon arrival, the police located six victims, including deceased victim Ernest Hall, all suffering from gunshot wounds. 

At the scene, 49 .223 caliber, .40 caliber, and 9mm caliber casings were recovered. Video from the area showed a vehicle drive up to a gas station and three passengers exit before opening fire. The driver remained in the car and allowed the shooters to get back in before fleeing the scene. Tracking the suspect through video footage, detectives were able to determine that the three shooters returned to that vehicle to drive to the 1200 block of North Franklintown Road, where three people exited the same car again and got into a waiting vehicle that was determined to be a 2012 white Infiniti G37 registered to Jabre Griffith.

The White Infiniti went directly from the North Franklintown Road location to a business called Richie’s Lounge. Video at that location shows individuals, one of whom is wearing a distinctive green and black puffy coat, later identified as Kamal Brown, briefly entering the bar and then exiting and returning to the white vehicle.  After driving around, the vehicle then went to the 2800 block of Baker Street, where Mr. Brown lives.  A Citiwatch camera showed a male getting out of the vehicle wearing the green and black puffy coat before the camera panned away. The vehicle was then tracked to a Royal Farms before later parking outside Jabre Griffith’s house for the remainder of the evening.

On March 23, 2023, at approximately 11:20 p.m., Baltimore City police responded to the 5400 block of York Road for a report of a shooting. They subsequently located two victims at Union Memorial Hospital, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.  Recovered from the scene were twenty .40 caliber casings. One of the victims, Micah Strong, succumbed to injuries sustained during this shooting.

Analysis of the firearms evidence recovered revealed that .40 casings from both scenes came from the same handgun, and the defendant’s DNA was found on latex gloves recovered from the area where the shooters switched cars after the first murder.

Griffin's co-defendant, Kamal Brown, is scheduled for trial on March 6, 2025.