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Background: The neighborhood in Baltimore, Md., where Desmond Gardner was shot on Jan. 26, 2023 (Google Maps). Inset: Desmond Gardner (Facebook).
A Maryland resident has been convicted of the murder of a young father who was tragically shot while taking a lunch break to visit his daughter.
Anthony Curry, aged 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of 27-year-old Desmond Gardner. After a five-day trial, the jury reached a unanimous verdict following three hours of deliberation, pronouncing Curry guilty on Tuesday. Curry was one of two individuals charged in connection with Gardner’s murder, which took place on January 26, 2023.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office reported that Gardner, during his lunch break from his job with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, decided to visit his young daughter at an apartment on Spelman Road in Baltimore. As he approached the residence, he was ambushed by three masked assailants and shot from behind.
Another suspect, 20-year-old Parris Harris, was previously convicted of first-degree murder in July 2024 and received a life sentence plus an additional 15 years in March.
According to the Maryland Attorney General, investigations by the police and the FBI revealed that one of the attackers had accidentally been shot in the leg by an accomplice. Authorities searched local hospitals for anyone admitting with gunshot injuries but were unable to locate the suspect.
Six days after Gardner’s murder, Baltimore police were investigating a vehicle they believed to be stolen. Harris just happened to be inside that vehicle, and when he saw the officers, he “locked the glove compartment and fled from police.” Police caught up to him, and when they investigated the inside of the vehicle, they found a handgun in the glove compartment. Ballistics matched the gun to shell casings recovered at the Gardner murder scene.
Harris was also seen in Instagram videos showing off the same gun.
Instagram was also part of the evidence presented in Curry’s case. The Maryland AG stated that an Instagram photo showed him wearing the same pants that he was seen wearing in surveillance camera footage that captured the deadly ambush on Gardner.
Cellphone evidence also pointed toward Curry’s guilt. The Maryland AG stated that on the day of Gardner’s murder, police tracked Harris’ cellphone to George Washington Hospital Trauma Center in Washington, D.C., where Curry was treated for gunshot wounds to the leg.
Curry was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and a firearms charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2026.