Amari Tydings

Amari Tydings, a 26-year-old Black woman and lifelong resident of Anne Arundel County, was building a life for herself and her young daughter. Known to loved ones as “Mari,” she had graduated from Annapolis High School in 2015 and continued her education in the Dental Assistance Program at Anne Arundel Community College. At the time of her death, she was working as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens. Her family described her daughter as her “greatest joy.”

On the summer evening of June 3, 2023, Amari’s life was cut short. Just after 10:00 p.m., officers from the Annapolis Police Department responded to reports of shots fired in the Harbor House community in the Eastport neighborhood. In the 1100 block of Madison Street, they found a car that had jumped the curb of a parking lot. Inside was Amari, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene. During later court proceedings, a prosecutor would state that Amari was not the intended target that night and that someone else had been expected to be driving the car.

Detectives began investigating what was the city’s third homicide of the year. The investigation quickly led them to identify a suspect, 19-year-old Dyamonick Gray of Severn, Maryland. Six days after the shooting, on June 9, 2023, U.S. Marshals located and arrested Gray in Glen Burnie. He was charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in a violent crime, and possession of a regulated firearm while under the age of 21. Gray was held without bond at the Jennifer Road Detention Center.

In February 2024, Dyamonick Gray, then 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and using a firearm in a violent crime in Amari’s death. He also pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in a separate, non-fatal shooting that had occurred the day before.

On April 2, 2024, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge J. Michael Wachs sentenced Gray to life in prison, suspending all but 50 years. He must serve at least half of that time. Gray also received a concurrent 25-year sentence for the other shooting and firearm charge. In court, Amari’s mother, Tori Hall, spoke of the pain of losing her daughter, saying, “I was robbed of the opportunity to see my daughter grow and see her mature.” Gray addressed the court, offering his “sincerest condolences” to Amari’s family. The judge described the killing as “senseless, unnecessary and ‘tragic all around’.” As of April 2024, the case is closed.