Keith Davis Jr., who went on trial 4 times for murder, sues former Baltimore state's attorney

Keith Davis Jr., a Baltimore man who went on trial four times for the murder of a security guard at Pimlico racetrack in 2015, has filed a lawsuit against former State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and some of the officers in the investigation.

Davis alleges that police shot him several times without legal justification and planted evidence to cover it up. The lawsuit also alleges that Mosby maliciously prosecuted him.

The lawsuit contains 12 counts, including fabrication of evidence, excessive force, and false arrest, according to our media partner, The Baltimore Banner.

Davis faced 4 trials

In June 2015, Kevin Jones was working security guard at Pimlico when he was shot 11 times in the parking lot. That same morning, Davis was chased by police into an auto shop in Northwest Baltimore for an unrelated robbery investigation.

Davis was shot by police three times, including in the face. He was found not guilty of the armed robbery but was then charged with murder.

Investigators said circumstantial evidence placed Davis in the vicinity when Jones was shot. However, there was no DNA evidence to back him as the killer.

Two of Davis's trials ended with a hung jury. Another ended in a conviction that was later thrown out. Davis was handed a 50-year sentence in his fourth trial, but a judge granted him a new trial.

In January 2023, Baltimore's top prosecutor, Ivan Bates, dismissed all charges against Davis and didn't pursue a fifth trial.

State's Attorney Bates later blamed Mosby for "missteps" and "pursuing a conviction at all costs."

"I had never, never in my entire career, seen the chief state's attorney have a presumption of prosecutorial vindictiveness," Bates tp;d WJZ in 2023.