Trial begins in fatal shooting of Bel Air resident Megan Lewis

Megan Riley Lewis died without shoes, Harford County District Attorney David Ryden told jurors Tuesday.

It didn’t matter that it was pouring rain that night in December 2023. Lewis went outside to try to convince a dinner party guest who was arguing with her partner to come into her apartment, Ryden said.

But soon after, she was mortally wounded. food delivery driver.

“Barefoot is how she bled to death in the cold December rain two days after Christmas,” Ryden said.

Brian Delen, 48, of Bel Air. charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault and use of a firearm in the killing of Lewis.

His trial began Tuesday in a packed Harford County courtroom filled with Lewis’ friends. Some met her through her activism—Lewis, a trans woman, was an advocate for the LGBT community—and others through her. love for the Grateful Dead. She was known for her generositysense of humor and her catchphrase: Stay brilliant.

The debate at trial is not whether Delen shot Lewis, but why. Delen’s lawyers said he acted out of fear and self-defense. However, witnesses called by the prosecutor’s office claim that they did not hear any quarrel.

Food delivery — especially through GrubHub and DoorDash — is Delen’s main source of income, said Tara LeCompte, one of his lawyers. That’s how he rents a small room in a townhouse in Bel Air and pays for car insurance and hobbies. He has been a delivery driver since 2019, LeCompte said.

Barbara DeLuca, a former government employee who lives in a building near Lewes, was planning to watch a movie on the evening of Dec. 27, she told jurors. She placed an order at Asian Cafe around 5:52 p.m.

Delaine received her order and drove to English Country Manor, an apartment complex in Bel Air, LeCompte said.

According to his lawyer, Delen parked and saw Lewis outside and thought she might be the person who placed the order. -Have you ordered food, sir? his lawyer said he asked. Lewis, according to his lawyer, was upset.

LeCompte said Delen rolled up her window and moved to another parking space. Lewis then walked up to him.

According to LeCompte, she stood next to his door, and Delaine felt trapped.

Delen then pulled a gun from her side holster and shot Lewis, LeCompte said. He screamed for help and then called 911 himself. LeCompte said he told them he had shot someone.

“This was a chance encounter between a woman trying to save her dinner party and a delivery driver,” she told the jury.

Witnesses called by prosecutors Tuesday said they did not hear screaming or an argument between Lewis and Delen that could have prompted the shooting.

Diamond Velez-Figueroa, a 23-year-old dinner guest whom Lewis had been looking for on the street, was sitting in his car when he saw Delen pull up to the apartment building. She told the jury there was no noise, shouting or arguing until there was a loud bang. Lewis was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital later that evening.

The trial is expected to continue early next week.