Date: November 18, 2024
RE: State v Djbril Ramatoulay
On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Djbril Ramatoulay, 32, of Aberdeen, was convicted of Attempted First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, and various related firearms offenses following a four-day jury trial before the Honorable Kevin J. Mahoney in the Circuit Court for Harford County.
Facts presented in trial proved that on April 23, 2024, members of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office responded the McDonald’s on Riverside Parkway for reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, they observed one deceased victim inside the McDonald’s suffering from two gunshot wounds to the head. An additional victim was also on scene and had taken shelter in the stockroom of the restaurant. Surveillance footage also showed that the suspect chased the surviving victim out of the McDonald’s and into the parking lot of the nearby Waffle House, firing three additional rounds. Through the course of their investigation, Detectives were able to identify the shooter as Djbril Ramatoulay. A search warrant was executed on the Defendant’s residence where they located the clothing worn in the surveillance footage during the incident. Those items were seized, swabbed and submitted for testing, where DNA analysis was conducted and confirmed that blood from the deceased victim was present on Ramatoulay’s clothing. The Defendant was interviewed, where he denied interacting with either victim and also gave a false description of the clothing he was wearing on the night in question. Ramatoulay is currently being held in the Harford County Detention Center pending his sentencing hearing on March 18, 2025.
Following the jury’s verdict, State’s Attorney Alison Healey offered the following comment: “This is yet another prosecution by our office for a violent crime, and another violent criminal convicted by a Harford County jury will be removed from the streets of Harford County. Our citizens are safer because of the successful prosecutions by our office. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated but committing such an egregious act in a public place which put so many innocent citizens at risk calls for a strong message to be sent. My heart is with the families of the deceased victim in this case as well as with the surviving victim. While I know that nothing can bring back the young man that was lost, I hope that this verdict will bring some sense of peace and justice to them as they all try move on from this horrific crime.”
State’s Attorney Healey thanks Deputy State’s Attorney Trenna Manners for her efforts in the prosecution of this case as well as the outstanding support staff of the State’s Attorney’s Office that assisted in preparing this case for trial. She also expressed her gratitude for the efforts of Harford County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ross, Dr. Mounkes from the Maryland State Police Crime Lab, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Dean, and the civilian witnesses and surviving victim whose testimony was instrumental in securing a conviction in this case.