Maryland pizza shop owner acted in self-defense in deadly shooting, attorney says
A Glen Burnie, Maryland, pizza shop owner is being held without bond after police say an altercation outside his business ended in a deadly shooting on Saturday, April 18.
According to charging documents, 32-year-old Ioannis Giorgakis, owner of Hilltop Pizza and Subs, is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Michael Hayes.
His attorney, Martin Cohen, told CBS News Baltimore that he is "confident" his client has a strong self-defense case.
The deadly shooting outside a Maryland pizza shop
Police said officers responded around 9:15 p.m. Saturday, to the restaurant on Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, after Giorgakis called 911 and reported he had just shot someone who was trying to fight him.
When officers arrived, they found Hayes unconscious in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds.
"He was transported to an area trauma center where he died from his injuries," said Justin Mulcahy, a spokesperson for Anne Arundel County Police Department. "The suspect, the shooter in this case, was on scene and was taken into custody and charged accordingly."
Charging documents said Giorgakis had called 911 twice earlier that night because Hayes allegedly caused a disturbance inside the restaurant. Police said the first call came in around 7:30 p.m.
"Apparently, the owner wanted him off the property, and then officers responded after we got the 911 call. He wasn't there," Mulcahy said. "Then a second call came in a little over an hour later, a similar type of call. My understanding is that the officers waited for him to leave the area and then he did leave the area."
Investigators said surveillance footage recorded just before the shooting shows Hayes leaving the restaurant followed by Giorgakis and another employee.
According to charging documents, the video then shows Hayes trying to fight Giorgakis before Giorgakis fired at Hayes multiple times.
A judge ordered Giorgakis to be held without bond Monday.
