As two Coppin State College students went on trial yesterday for their roles in a fight that left a Morgan State student stabbed to death, the name of former Coppin student Keith Dillard kept coming up.
The prosecutor says she wants Mr. Dillard to testify that Coppin freshman Scott A. Stevenson killed Morgan student Sean Jones.
Lawyers for Mr. Stevenson and his brother Mark, who is charged with stabbing another student, want to find Mr. Dillard -- who may have returned to his native New York -- for another reason.
They suggest he is the killer.
What's more, the father-and-son defense team of Henry I. and Mitchell A. Greenberg say Baltimore police ignored evidence implicating Mr. Dillard and, to avoid embarrassment, stuck with their original suspects.
Scott Stevenson, 21, is charged with the murder of Mr. Jones, attempted murder in the stabbing of 22-year-old Morgan student Shanile Shakoor, and weapons charges. His 20-year-old brother is charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of Morgan student Marlon Sullivan.
The stabbings occurred Feb. 17 at Morgan State University.
Prosecutor Carolyn Starks Saxon said the Stevenson brothers, both New Yorkers attending Coppin as freshmen, were at the Morgan campus for a comedy show. She said Mr. Dillard bumped into Mr. Jones' car, and when Mr. Jones confronted him, Mr. Dillard pulled a knife.
Later, she said, Mr. Jones, a 22-year-old junior at Morgan, recruited some friends to hunt down Mr. Dillard. A fight broke out, and Mr. Jones, Mr. Shakoor and Mr. Sullivan were stabbed by the Stevensons, the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor said Mr. Dillard was never identified by anyone as a suspect in the stabbings.
Defense lawyers disputed that contention.
Henry Greenberg said a city police officer attending a vigil at the university four days after the slaying was approached by a student who said the killer was about 5 feet 10, with medium complexion. Scott Stevenson is a tall, light-skinned black man, the lawyer said. He said a photograph taken that night had Mr. Dillard wearing clothing matching the student's description of the killer.
He said Mr. Jones, after being stabbed in the back, chased Mr. Dillard while shouting, "You can't stab me and get away with it."
"Who can you rely on?" Mr. Greenberg asked the jury.
Mr. Dillard was granted immunity from prosecution in return for his grand jury testimony, he said.