Justice Served in Murder of Efraim Gordon in Baltimore

Justice has been served in the case of Efraim Gordon, who was fatally shot in May 2021 during an attempted carjacking outside his relatives’ home in northwest Baltimore. Efraim was walking home after his cousin’s wedding when he was attacked by teens in a stolen car committing armed robberies. The perpetrators were convicted of first-degree murder, with one sentenced to life in prison.

YWN

A Baltimore court on Tuesday sentenced 19-year-old William Holloman to life in prison with all but 50 years suspended for the 2021 fatal shooting of Israeli visitor Efraim Gordon hy”d. The emotional sentencing hearing marked a somber conclusion to a case that deeply affected both the victim’s family and the Jewish community in Baltimore and beyond.

Holloman was convicted in July on charges of first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, and gun offenses. Gordon, who was in northwest Baltimore for a cousin’s wedding, was fatally shot in the chest during an attempted robbery as he walked to his relatives’ home on Fords Lane.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn, who presided over the case, also recommended Holloman be sent to the Patuxent Youth Program. The sentence follows the guilty pleas of three other defendants — William Clinton, Omarion Anderson, and Rasheed Morris — who were also involved in the killing and admitted to first-degree murder.

During the trial, evidence revealed that the group of four had spent the evening driving in a stolen vehicle and committing armed robberies. Holloman, just 16 at the time, denied his involvement in Gordon’s death during a tearful statement in court.

“I still maintain my innocence. I did not kill this man,” Holloman said, addressing Gordon’s family while under heavy security.

The victim’s cousin, however, noted the reckless and dangerous nature of the group’s actions. “You’re going out together and embarking on a journey that can involve someone being murdered — that’s what your crime was,” Gordon’s cousin, Dovid Reyder, said in court.

Efraim Gordon’s family described him as a kind and life-loving individual. “It was very emotional, and our whole family reliving it. Justice was served,” Reyder told reporters.