Photo Courtesy of Ransom Family
A Philadelphia family is devastated and looking for answers after a 21-year-old Morgan State University accounting student was robbed and murdered in a marijuana deal that took a deadly turn.
According to The Baltimore Sun, Barry Ransom was shot and killed by suspect Kevin M. Sharp, 21, after he arranged to meet with the man to sell him weed. The two men did not know each other. On October 25, Ransom and two unidentified men linked up with Sharp in the parking lot of The Shops at Kenilworth in Towson, Maryland, shortly after 10 pm.
The alleged shooter got in the backseat with the accounting major, attempted to rob Ransom, pulled out his gun and shot him when they stepped out of the vehicle. Sharp snatched a backpack and a wallet and fled the scene. When police arrived, the Morgan State University senior was outside the silver Honda in a wooded area pleading for help. He was transported to a hospital, where he succumbed to a single gunshot wound to the torso.
Surveillance footage detailed the incident and allowed police to contact the other passengers in the vehicle. They served as witnesses to the tragic botched drug deal. Authorities also stated the witnesses claimed that Sharp wasn’t a contact that Ransom had met before.
Sharp denied his involvement in Ransom’s death– claiming that he was at home when the robbery occurred. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on October 29. Police arrived at Sharp’s house with a search warrant finding a knapsack with a sizeable amount of marijuana and the other people’s property in the vehicle.
CBS Baltimore reported that Sharp is still in police custody.
Ransom’s family has requested privacy during this time as they grieve the loss of their loved one, but they did give the news outlet a statement.
“Barry was a loving, caring young man who was a senior majoring in accounting at Morgan State University,” the family’s statement said in part. “He has made many accomplishments within his 21 years of life. The grief is too much to bear, and we have too many questions that need to be answered.”
Our condolences to his family.