JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Opening statements began on Tuesday morning in the trial for one of two men accused in the murder of a Jacksonville father in 2020.
Latroy Montgomery was arrested in 2022 and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Maurice Anderson in Arlington.
The shooting was reported Oct. 28, 2020, when at about 8:30 p.m., police responded to Mansion Road. JSO police found three people suffering from gunshot wounds. One person died at the scene, and two others were taken to a hospital for treatment.
While at the scene, investigators said, officers were then called to Claudia Spencer Street, also in reference to a person shot. The victim was located in a nearby parking lot and transported to a hospital, where he later died. He was identified as Orial Baker.
Through their investigation, police determined that the incidents were connected. Investigators said the suspects involved in the original incident reported on Mansion Road were identified as Orial Baker, Odale Baker and Latroy Montgomery.
According to JSO, Orial Baker and Montgomery entered a home and, at some point, became involved in a physical altercation with people inside. Investigators said Montgomery brandished a firearm “and began firing towards those involved – striking several individuals, including suspect Baker.”
Several witnesses took the stand on the first day of the trial on Tuesday, including the first responding officer, a relative of Montgomery and Anderson’s girlfriend at the time.
One of the witnesses who testified was a woman who was in the house during the incident.
She talked about what happened that night, saying as she testified that she was mentally replaying the events from that evening.
“Struggle, like they were fighting, like he didn’t want to give it up, like he was fighting it hurt, gunshots going off, and it came running, like scrambling into the room we were in,” she said. “One of the robbers said, ‘Man, you shot the wrong person. Turn on the lights.‘”
The State also called a crime scene unit detective to the stand who processed the scene and answered questions about the evidence recovered and dozens of photos taken at the location.
Odale Baker and Montgomery face numerous charges, including murder. Montgomery previously served time in prison for robbery and Odale Baker served time in prison for attempted murder, records show.
According to Anderson’s mom, Kim Anderson, her son did not know the suspects but knew one of the victims, who was one of his friends.
News4JAX learned Orial Baker was the older brother to Odal Baker and a cousin to Latroy Montgomery.