In the early morning hours of June 16, 2022, a dispute on the 200 block of Redwood Street in Baltimore, Maryland, ended in tragedy. Ryan Harris, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed. A sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Harris was remembered by his commanding officer as a respectful and admirable young man who was doing the right things in life.
His death was a profound loss to his family, his church community, and the 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade where he served.
The incident, which occurred shortly before 4 a.m., also resulted in the injury of two other men, aged 29 and 31, who were struck by the same gunfire that claimed Harris's life. For over a year and a half, the man responsible for the shooting remained at large. In January 2023, the Baltimore Police Department publicly identified 31-year-old Jamal Smith as the suspect, wanted for the murder of Harris and the attempted murders of the other two victims.
The search for Smith culminated on January 22, 2024, when members of the U.S. Marshals' Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Baltimore Police Department's Warrant Apprehension Task Force located him. Smith, then 32, had barricaded himself inside a building on North Milton Street. After a brief standoff, he was taken into custody. At the time of his arrest, Smith also had an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault.
Initially charged with first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree attempted murder, Jamal Smith's case proceeded through the legal system. In June 2025, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of second-degree murder and felony firearm use in a violent crime. During the sentencing, Harris's family and loved ones delivered poignant statements, describing the shattering impact his death had on their lives. The judge, moved by their words, noted he had rarely heard a more moving description of loss due to street violence. Smith, 33 at the time of sentencing, received a 25-year prison sentence, to be followed by five years of supervised probation. He was also recommended for the Second Chance program, aimed at reducing recidivism by providing support to offenders upon their release.
