19-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder

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Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea Handy sentenced a 19-year-old man to serve 12 years in prison after he accepted a plea offer Thursday morning during reception court.

On June 17, Daryus Valines pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder, firearm use in a violent crime, and carrying a handgun. Valines was represented by defense attorney Michael Tomko.

Tomko and the prosecution agreed to a term of 50 years, suspending all but 12, with the first five years without the possibility of parole.

Although the maximum sentence for attempted first-degree murder is life in prison, Judge Handy accepted the lesser sentence, noting Valines’s cooperation with the investigation as well as his clean record.

The prosecution said the shooting occurred in Downtown Baltimore on July 20, 2020, and the victim suffered a gunshot wound to his hand.

Valines also volunteered to enter the Patuxent Youthful Offenders Program. The program addresses the needs of male and female offenders with severe character disorders who typically have a history of substance dependency, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services website. The program works to develop offenders pro-social behavior patterns, provide educational programming and teach participants how to develop efficient work ethics.

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