In the winter of 2017, a dispute in Baltimore tragically cut short the life of 20-year-old Donald Symptom. On the first of February, Symptom was in the 4700 block of Hampnett Avenue when an altercation with two other men ended in gunfire. He was fatally shot during the encounter.
Following the deadly shooting, an investigation led to Dontaz Lavan Brandon, who was 18 at the time, and William Maurice Neely Jr., then 19, being identified as the alleged assailants who had followed Symptom
down the street before the shooting occurred. A few weeks after the incident, Brandon turned himself in to the authorities. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. William Neely was also charged in connection with the homicide.
The legal proceedings that followed took a number of turns. According to court records, the charges against Dontaz Brandon were dismissed on December 7, 2017, only to be reactivated two years later. However, the case ultimately concluded with the charges against Brandon being dismissed, and he was found not guilty on July 12th.
