Travon Benson

On the evening of December 14, 2024, a series of gunshots echoed through a Southwest Baltimore neighborhood. At approximately 8:09 p.m., a ShotSpotter alert for seven rounds drew Baltimore Police officers to the 2000 block of Penrose Avenue. Just 22 seconds later, a second alert reported two more shots fired in an alley behind the 200 block of North Payson Street. In that alley, officers discovered Travon Q. Benson, a 29-year-old Black male, who had been shot in the head. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Homicide detectives investigating the killing recovered a total of ten spent shell casings from the two locations. The key to the case emerged from surveillance footage, which captured a blue Hyundai Kona near the scene at the time of the shooting. Video showed the car’s horn honking, after which a man was seen running from the alley where Benson was found and getting into the vehicle before it sped away. Investigators soon learned the Hyundai had been carjacked three days earlier and had been fitted with a GPS tracker by a police task force.

Using the GPS data, an aviation unit tracked the fleeing car to the 2100 block of Ridgehill Avenue. Officers watched as the driver got out of the vehicle and threw away a wig he had been wearing as a disguise, along with the car key. Police moved in and apprehended the driver, identified as 42-year-old Tracy Jeter. The car keys were later found in his pocket. On December 30, 2024, Jeter was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and firearm offenses in connection with Benson’s death.

During his trial, prosecutors, who called the killing a "calculated execution," presented evidence of the disguise and the GPS data that tracked the car near Benson’s home before the murder. Jeter’s defense attorney argued there was no clear motive and a lack of direct physical evidence like DNA or fingerprints connecting his client to the crime.

On July 31, 2025, a Baltimore City jury found Tracy Jeter guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates stated, “This defendant’s failed attempts to disguise himself during this calculated execution demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the law and human life.” As of August 2025, Jeter faces a life sentence and is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on September 22, 2025.