On a Tuesday night in September 2018, the life of 43-year-old Gregory Cason was cut short by gunfire in East Baltimore. The shooting occurred on September 11, just after 10:30 p.m., in the 2900 block of East Monument Street. When Baltimore Police officers arrived at the scene, they found Cason suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The investigation into Cason's death was handled by homicide detectives
who, in time, identified a suspect. William Wright was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and firearm offenses in connection with the fatal shooting. The case against him appeared to hinge significantly on the testimony of Cason's girlfriend, who was present at the scene of the crime. At the time of the shooting, Cason was living with his girlfriend, their young son, her mother, and her mother's boyfriend on East Monument Street.
William Wright's trial began in November 2021. During opening statements, the prosecution asserted that a physical altercation did not justify the repeated shooting of Gregory Cason. However, Wright's defense attorney vehemently argued that the police had the wrong man and that his client was not guilty. The defense immediately cast doubt on the credibility of Cason's girlfriend, telling the jury that she had lied to police during their initial questioning on the night of the incident and again a week later when she identified Wright in a photo lineup. The defense portrayed her as an uncooperative and argumentative witness with conflicting statements about the identity of the shooter.
After nearly two days of jury selection and a trial that scrutinized the testimony of the victim's girlfriend and her mother, the jury rendered its verdict. William Wright was acquitted of all charges related to the death of Gregory Cason. The outcome of the trial left the case legally resolved, with the accused man cleared of wrongdoing, but the question of who was ultimately responsible for Cason's death unanswered in the eyes of the law.
