In the early morning hours of a cold February day in Baltimore, tragedy struck. On Friday, February 10, 2023, at approximately 8:58 a.m., police responded to a report of a shooting on the 4100 block of Eierman Avenue. Upon arrival, Northeast District patrol officers discovered 44-year-old Melvin D. Cummings suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The male victim was rushed to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, but tragically, he was pronounced dead later that same day.
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Baltimore Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation into the fatal shooting. According to court documents, witnesses reported seeing two individuals dressed in all black and wearing face masks shoot Cummings. The assailants then reportedly fled the scene in a silver car. Investigators later determined the vehicle was a rental car equipped with a GPS.
Detectives were able to track the path of the rental car to the 7300 block of McClean Boulevard. There, they observed an individual cleaning the car before entering a nearby apartment. Using facial recognition technology, police identified this person as Kevin Griggs, 31. Further investigation of cell phone records placed both Griggs and a co-defendant, Michael Fisher, at the scene of the crime and along the route the rental car had taken.
Both Kevin Griggs and Michael Fisher were subsequently arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Melvin Cummings. Griggs faces charges of first-degree murder, firearm possession with a felony conviction, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and having a handgun on his person. Fisher is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony-violent crime, conspiracy to commit firearm use in a felony-violent crime, illegal possession of a registered firearm, and having a handgun on his person.
The legal proceedings for the two suspects have faced delays. A trial for Kevin Griggs scheduled for July 16, 2024, was postponed after he dismissed his defense attorney just a day before. As of that time, no new trial date had been set. Michael Fisher is scheduled for a jury trial set to begin on October 28.
