2 Convicted In Marijuana-Related Shooting In Long Reach

ELLICOTT CITY, MD - Two men were convicted in connection with a nonfatal shooting in Columbia that happened in January. The assault was related to a marijuana deal gone wrong, officials said.

The victim, an Essex man in the area to sell drugs to a Columbia man, was found shot on Old Dobbin Lane, officials said. He was airlifted from Long Reach High School for treatment of gunshot wounds on Jan. 7.

The victim had been asked to deliver four ounces of marijuana to a Long Reach apartment complex, but when he arrived without the goods, two men shot him, according to the Howard County State's Attorney's Office.

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Erik D. Shird, 24, of the 6100 block of Turnabout Lane in Columbia, allegedly said he would pay $900 for the marijuana.

In court, the victim told the Assistant State's Attorney Natasha Byus in court that he "didn't trust him," speaking of Shird.

According to the state's attorney's office, the victim had reason not to trust the Columbia man; neither Shird nor the other man charged in the case - Daries T. Williams, 22, of the 300 block of Joplin Street in Baltimore - had $900 at the time of their arrest, the lead detective testified.

Officers said they found the 38-year-old victim upon responding to a report of a man shot in the leg in the area of Old Dobbin Lane at 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 7. A medevac took him to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where police said that within a few days, he was in good condition.

Upon investigation, authorities determined that a total of five shots had been fired at close range, the state's attorney reported, while the victim was at the wheel of his girlfriend’s car.

The victim had dropped his girlfriend off at her job at Famous Dave's, then gone to the drug meetup location in Long Reach, where Williams and Shird shot into the vehicle through the passenger side, officials said. There was reportedly another person in back of the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

A jury deliberated for nearly six hours before deciding on July 26 not to convict Shird and Williams of attempted first-degree murder, the most serious charge they faced.

Shird was found guilty of three counts of first-degree assault, two counts of using a firearm in a felony crime, using a firearm in a drug trafficking crime, possession with intent to distribute, possession of drugs other than marijuana and possessing a firearm with a felony conviction, court records show.

At the time of his arrest, Shird had 14 pink vials of crack cocaine in his pocket as well as two vials of marijuana, according to Wayne Kirwan, spokesman for the state's attorney's office. He also had a plastic baggie with marijuana and a "rock" of crack cocaine that police said was large enough for "50 servings," Kirwan said.

Williams was convicted of three counts of first-degree assault and two counts of using a firearm in a felony crime.

Howard County Circuit Court Judge William V. Tucker set Shird's sentencing for Aug. 24. Williams will be sentenced Oct. 27 in Howard County Circuit Court.

According to the state's attorney, each man faces more than 100 years in prison.

File photo by Elizabeth Janney.