PORTSMOUTH, Va. – A Portsmouth judge on Wednesday dismissed charges against a man accused of murdering four people in June 2022.
Among other charges, Raymond Gore was charged with four counts of aggravated murder. He had a preliminary hearing on Feb. 1.
The charges were in connection with the deaths of Georgio Lee, Oleisha Deanna Mears, Ashley Merricks, and Samuel Jones. Police said they were all shotinside the home on Maple Avenue on June 7, 2022.
In court, a medical examiner testified that Mears had 13 gunshot wounds, and a detective described that she was found in a closet.
Prior to that testimony, members of the victims’ families were called before the judge to confirm the identity of the victims, before and after their deaths.
Gore came into the courtroom wearing a green jumpsuit, with his wrists and ankles cuffed. He stood calmly, appearing to show no emotion during the preliminary hearing.
In the beginning of Wednesday's proceedings, Gore's lawyer, Michael Massie, told the judge Gore was hard of hearing. Someone in the courtroom brought him his hearing aids which he wore for the remainder of the proceedings.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney called in a witness, Michael Canty, who is currently incarcerated at the Chesapeake Correctional Center on unrelated charges. Canty claimed he saw Gore at the door of the home and that he heard shots. However, he said he was not positive it was Ashley Merricks at the door.
Massie said, “They put on one witness, and he testified he was only 90% certain that the person who answered the door was in fact one of the people who was shot.”
However, Detective Ethan Bloodworth, the lead detective on the case, testified it was Merricks was found deceased inside the doorway.
“This was certainly a horrific scene. These folks were brutally murdered," Judge Roxie Holder said following Det. Bloodworth's testimony.
Holder went on to say the Commonwealth did not prove sufficient evidence linking Gore to the murders and, ultimately, dismissed the charges.
“The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office ensures that we provide due diligence to all of our victims and families involved," a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told News 3 over the phone.
She added that it is indeed an option to try and get the case before a grand jury.
Raymond Gore’s nephew, Antwann Gore, previously faced charges for the same murders, however, the judge dismissed those due to lack of evidence.
According to court records, on Jan. 5, Antwann Gore was directly indicted by a Portsmouth grand jury on eight counts, including four counts of aggravated murder and four firearms charges. Antwann Gore's next hearing date is not currently listed in online records.
