In the evening hours of April 29, 2022, a dispute at a gas station in Northwest Baltimore escalated into a fatal double shooting, claiming the life of 27-year-old Kennard M. Wilds and 33-year-old Robert Carter. The incident occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m. at the Carroll Motor Fuels gas station situated at the intersection of Liberty Heights Avenue and Garrison Boulevard. Responding officers discovered both Wilds and Carter suffering from gunshot wounds.
They were transported to Sinai Hospital, where they both succumbed to their injuries.
The investigation into the homicides led police to identify Lamarr Candia, a 27-year-old man from Gwynn Oak, as a suspect. About a month after the shooting, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into custody. Candia faced a litany of charges, including first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, and conspiracy to commit murder.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that while Candia was not the gunman, he was an accomplice who instigated the violence. The court heard that an initial altercation occurred between Candia, Wilds, and Carter. Following this, Candia allegedly made a phone call, and another individual, who remains unidentified, arrived at the scene. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Candia conferring with this person before the shooting. The prosecution contended that Candia 'set the wheels in motion' for the murders. The defense argued that there were too many unanswered questions and that Candia was not aware of the shooter's intentions.
In October 2023, a Baltimore jury found Lamarr Candia guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and firearm use in a felony or violent crime. In December of the same year, he was sentenced for his role in the deaths of Kennard Wilds and Robert Carter. The judge handed down two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murders, in addition to sentences for the other charges. The families of both victims provided emotional impact statements at the sentencing, expressing their profound loss. The individual who fired the fatal shots has not been publicly identified.
