On a summer day in Baltimore, what began as a conversation ended in a fatal burst of violence. On June 19, 2008, Brian Goodwin was standing in the 500 block of Bloom Street, leaning into a double-parked car and talking with the people inside. Several hours earlier, he had gotten into an argument with a man 'around the corner' who had warned him not to sell drugs in that area.
From about ten or fifteen feet away, an eyewitness seated on the steps of a house saw another man approach from around the corner and open fire on Goodwin, who then fell to the ground. The assailant then walked closer and shot Goodwin three more times.
About a year after the shooting, an eyewitness to the incident was identified by police. When presented with a photo array of possible suspects, the witness identified James Wesley Spriggs as the shooter. The state's case at trial was built on the theory that Spriggs had murdered Goodwin, a rival drug dealer, in a dispute over territory.
Following a bench trial in 2010 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, James Wesley Spriggs was convicted of first-degree murder, use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence or felony, and wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. An appeal of the conviction was later affirmed. In 2016, Spriggs filed a petition for a writ of actual innocence based on what he claimed was newly discovered evidence, but the circuit court dismissed the petition.
