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Chase Wilson, 22, was sentenced to 40 years in prison with all but 25 years suspended in connection to the the fatal shooting of Julian Fruh in the 4400 block of Marble Hall Road in August 2022
On Aug. 31, 2022, campus police alerted Baltimore City officers about a shooting near campus involving a man - later identified as Fruh - who was shot in the head after reportedly getting into a dispute.
At the time of the shooting, Fruh was an employee of Allied Universal, the security company for the apartments in the area he was killed.
Prosecutors say that Fruh was walking while looking at his phone in the parking lot of the apartment complex at the end of his shift when Wilson approached on foot and shot him multiple times before fleeing.
A co-worker rendered aid and called for a medic, though Fruh was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital less than a half hour after the shooting.
Surveillance footage from the apartment complex helped investigators determine that the two were talking to each other on their phones before the shots were fired.
When they meet, another camera angle shows shots fired at the victim, who falls to the ground. The video footage follows the suspect running into a building.
Wilson was arrested nearly a month after the murder on Sept. 27, 2022.
He was convicted of:
- Second-degree murder;
- Use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence;
- Wear, carry, or transport of a handgun.
When Wilson is sentenced in October, he will face 60 years in prison.
“A homicide near Morgan State University, at an off-campus housing facility, a place that should be a safe haven for our young people to learn, grow, and thrive in, is deeply traumatizing," States Attorney Ivan Bates said. "Though Mr. Wilson will spend the next two decades in prison, this sentence pales in comparison to the life he took from 19-year-old Mr. Julian Fruh."
Despite the seemingly lengthy sentence, Bates said he expected a harsher sentence by the judge when the punishment was handed down.
“While we respect the decision of the jury on the verdict of second-degree murder, we remain baffled by the sentence imposed by the judge for such a callous act of violence," he added.
"I believe Mr. Wilson should have been sentenced to the full 60 years for the crime of killing an individual who was only there to increase public safety for residents in the area, and this exiguous sentence simply victimizes this family, already suffering from trauma, all over again."
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