A Baltimore judge on Wednesday acquitted a man who beat up two anti-abortion protesters outside Planned Parenthood at his second trial of first-degree assault, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove he intended to inflict serious injuries.

Patrick Brice was found guilty in February in Baltimore Circuit Court of two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment for attacking Richard Schaefer and Mark Crosby on May 26, 2023, outside the Planned Parenthood Baltimore City Health Center on North Howard Street in downtown.

A jury acquitted Brice, 28, of West Baltimore, of one count of first-degree assault related to Schaefer. But jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on another count of first-degree assault connected to Crosby, and prosecutors decided to move forward with a retrial.

At the conclusion of that bench trial, Circuit Judge Yvette M. Bryant said she had no doubt that Crosby suffered serious, protracted and permanent injuries. But the issue in the case, she said, was intent.

Bryant read portions of his medical records that detailed instances during which he ignored directives from nurses and other hospital staff.

Crosby not only sparred on the witness stand with the defense attorney and prosecutor, she said, but the court as well. She described his testimony as unreliable.

“This is sort of the experience today in testifying: ‘I’m in control,’” Bryant said. “He seems to be a person who’s at the ready.”

She said she watched surveillance video of the attack multiple times and concluded that the footage could be interpreted in two ways.

Either Crosby was running over to fight, she said, or rushing to help his friend.

Bryant said she agreed that the assault was not justified. But she said she disagreed with the characterization that the attack was unprovoked.

In the video, Brice approaches Schaefer and the two get into a heated discussion about their differing views on abortion.

Next, Brice rushes at Schaefer and tackles him into a flowerpot. Crosby then runs over toward them.

That’s when Brice pushes Crosby to the ground, punches him in the face and delivers a kick directly to his head.

Crosby testified that he spent three days at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center right after the assault and twice landed back in the emergency room. He said he suffered an orbital fracture and continues to experience issues in his right eye.

“I came over to assist,” Crosby testified. “I have a moral obligation to help my brothers in Christ.”

His ophthalmologist, Dr. Marcos Doxanas, testified that Crosby suffers from increased sensitivity to light and opined that the injury is effectively permanent.

At the time, Schaefer was 84. Crosby was 73.

Brice is scheduled on Aug. 7 to be sentenced. He’s free on his own recognizance.

In her closing argument, Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Sudberry argued that Brice intended the consequences of his actions and could have stopped at any time during the attack.

“It was intentional,” Sudberry said. “It was not justified.”

“This is not about what the defendant thinks in hindsight,” she added.

Meanwhile, Assistant Public Defender Matthew Connell, Brice’s attorney, conceded that his client committed a crime but contended he did not intend to cause serious injuries.

“This is a hasty and impulsive act that never should have happened,” Connell said in his closing argument. “He really wasn’t thinking at all.”

Outside the courtroom, Terrell Roberts, Crosby’s attorney, described the outcome as absurd and terrible.

Crosby, meanwhile, was more circumspect.

“It’s Baltimore City,” Crosby said. “What are you going to do?”