A food delivery driver who fatally shot a trans woman in the parking lot of her Bel Air apartment complex was found not guilty on Wednesday of first- and second-degree murder.

Brian Delen, 48, of Bel Air, was convicted in Harford County Circuit Court of the lesser charges he faced, second-degree assault and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, following a trial during which his attorneys argued he acted out of fear and in self-defense when he shot Meghan Lewis last year.

Delen’s attorneys, Tara LeCompte and Katrina Smith, said in statement Delen was protecting himself and made “every effort” to get medical help for Lewis.

“We are grateful that the jury recognized this case for what it was: a tragic situation of self-defense,” they said in a statement.

The jury deliberated for several hours, tasked with determining why Delen fatally shot Lewis.

According to charging documents, the shooting occurred two nights after Christmas in 2023, when Delen drove into the English Country Manor, a condo community in Bel Air, on a food delivery run. Authorities said he and Lewis started arguing after Delen addressed her as “Sir.” She followed him as Delen began to drive off and then shot her. During the trial, witnesses offered conflicting accounts of what happened that night.

In closing arguments, Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey said Lewis, who had no coat or shoes on when she died, was not “ready for combat.” Delen, however, had a loaded semi-automatic pistol, two magazines, a folding knife and two magazines in his car the night Lewis died.

Healey said Delen intended to kill and waited for the “right opportunity.” She said the evidence showed Delen did not attempt to retreat and he shot Lewis “in the dark, in the rain,” when there was low visibility.

Prosecutor witnesses said they heard no argument between Delen and Lewis. One witness heard someone say they had been shot. Another said they saw Delen’s car pull over before he leaned out and shot at Lewis.

Healey said Delen did not attempt to help Lewis when she was bleeding from her gunshot wound.

“He wanted her to die because he didn’t want her to live to tell this tale,” she told jurors.

After Delen shot Lewis, he called 911 and asked for an ambulance. He told the operator he had shot someone who had attempted to attack him and push him back to the car, saying, “I went right for the gut.” The bullet struck Lewis in her left abdomen.

Smith, an assistant public defender, said the fatal shooting emerged from a chance encounter. Delen had been in the neighborhood to deliver food.

“A tragedy can occur without any crime occurring as well,” she said.

Smith said some of the witnesses’ testimonies had discrepancies and many of them consider Lewis a friend.

“Memories are imperfect. Memories can fade. Memories can get distorted overtime,” she said.

An advocate for LGBTQ rights, Lewis was known in the community for her love of the Grateful Dead and for being a social butterfly. Two days before she died, she hosted a Christmas dinner party for queer people who had no family or home to go to for the holidays.

Healey said in a press release that she intends to seek a sentence of 30 years, the maximum penalties allowed by law. Five of those years will be required to be without the possibility of parole, she said. A sentencing date has not been scheduled yet.

“We stand by our arguments to the jury that the incident that took the life of Meghan Riley Lewis was undoubtedly a First Degree Murder,” Healey said in a statement. “My heart goes out to Meghan’s family and all the people in our community that loved her while they mourn her loss, as I know this has been a long and emotional journey.”