Man pleads guilty to 2021 killing of Morgan State student in Towson shopping center parking lot

A 22-year-old Towson man entered an Alford plea Monday to a first-degree murder charge in connection with the 2021 killing of a Morgan State University student at the Shops at Kenilworth.

Kevin Sharp, whose case had been scheduled for jury selection Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, will be sentenced Dec. 23, the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

A courts website shows Sharp’s plea to first-degree murder was an Alford plea, meaning he maintained his innocence but acknowledged there was sufficient evidence for a conviction.

Sharp’s attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Prosecutors said in the release that Sharp robbed Barry Ransom, a 21-year-old Morgan State accounting major, and two of his acquaintances after the group had met around 10 p.m. Oct. 25, 2021.

Ransom attempted to run and Sharp shot him in the back, prosecutors said.

Police responded to the report of a shooting in the parking lot of a Trader Joe’s at the Shops at Kenilworth in Towson, where they found Ransom suffering from gunshot wounds in a nearby wooded area.

Prosecutors said a search of Sharp’s apartment found Ransom’s property and that Sharp had advertised on Instagram he was selling items taken from Ransom.

Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger praised the “excellent investigative” work of the police and the preparation of the prosecutors’ case, adding that he hoped it “will send a clear message that outrageous acts such as these will be addressed with justice.”