Howard County judge convicts 19-year-old man for role in deadly 2025 double shooting
Nearly a year after the deadly double shooting near The Mall in Columbia, a 19-year-old man has been found guilty on a slew of charges.
Emmetson Zeah has been found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, retaliation, and weapons charges.
Howard County Circuit Court Judge Stephanie Porter also found Zeah guilty on one of two obstruction of justice charges, but didn't convict on the other.
The verdict comes after a three-day bench trial. Zeah's sentencing is scheduled for May 22.
Police arrested Zeah shortly after the Feb. 22, 2025, shootings of 16-year-old Michael Robertson and 15-year-old Blake McCray at the bus stop outside of the mall and close to a Lidl. Witness interviews, video evidence, and Zeah's ankle monitoring tracking data helped identify him as a suspect.
Robertson died at the crime scene, while McCray died a few days later in the hospital.
Taking the stand
Before the closing arguments took place on Friday, Zeah himself took the stand in the afternoon, claiming he acted in self-defense on the day of the shooting.
His attorney, Henry Roland Barnes, advised Zeah that it would open the door for state prosecutors to enter a previous conviction of his that could impeach him.
Zeah looked to give his side of things on the day of the shooting. He said he went to the mall to look for a job and to meet up with a friend named Rob.
Zeah thought he saw that friend among a group of people standing at the bus stop, but when he walked over, he testified he saw two people at the bottom of the stairs, and at least one of them was pointing a gun at him. He heard gunshots, prompting him to take out his gun and fire back.
Security camera footage from a Regional Transportation Agency (RTA) bus was played over and over in court on Friday. In it, you can see Zeah approach the group and, in seconds, start firing a gun. Everyone, including Zeah, could be seen running away. A woman fell to the ground, shielding a child who looked to be very close to the muzzle of the gun Zeah fired.
While Zeah admitted responsibility for shooting the gun and possessing it when he shouldn't have, he maintained his innocence.
"I would never intend to kill nobody," Zeah said on the stand.
"I don't believe [it]..."
When it came time for Howard County State's Attorney Rich Gibson and Assistant State's Attorney Dillon Yeung to cross-examine Zeah and deliver their closing argument, both poked holes in Zeah's story.
They questioned the presence of other people with guns, noting police detective testimony that there is only evidence of one gun being fired. They also pointed to the fact that Zeah admitted, on the stand, to lying during his initial interview with police.
"Every single piece of evidence contradicts the defendant's claim of self-defense," Yeung said.
In his closing argument, Barnes insisted prosecutors didn't have enough to show premeditation in any of Zeah's actions, also leaning on Zeah's telling of other shooters at the time.
In the end, Porter disagreed and moved to convict Zeah.
"I don't believe for a minute he was looking for a job, I don't believe for a minute he was looking for Rob," Porter said. "He had every opportunity to turn around."
Victims' families take action
The families of Robertson and McCray announced in October that they sued the specialist monitoring company responsible for supervising Zeah at the time of the shooting.
It was filed by the Law Office of David Ellin in Reisterstown, claiming Advantage Sentencing Alternative Programs Inc. (ASAP) failed to properly supervise Zeah when the shooting happened.
When reviewing his movements, police found Zeah had violated the conditions of his release on multiple days, tracking him to the scene of another shooting in Columbia on Feb. 14, 2025.
Zeah was out on bail for charges related to a home invasion and attempted stabbing case from Nov. 2024.