Judge Sentences Man Accused in Harbor Hospital Parking Lot Shooting to 3 Years

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Chavez Mitchell, 35, was sentenced on March 17 to a total of three years for reckless endangerment and illegal possession of ammunition following a two-day jury trial before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer. He was found guilty on March 14, the same day jury deliberations began.

Mitchell, who was represented by defense attorney James A. Johnston, was initially charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, and various firearm-related charges in connection to the March 11, 2024, shooting of an unnamed man in the Harbor Hospital emergency room parking lot.

According to charging documents, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) Southern District officers responded to Harbor Hospital on the 3000 block of S. Hanover Street at approximately 2:45 p.m. for a report of a victim shot in the left side of the chest. He was transported the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was treated and listed in stable condition.

In the parking lot, officers found a white Ford Taurus with a Maryland tag with blood on the vehicle’s exterior and front passenger seat where the victim had been sitting prior to the shooting.

The victim later testified that the car belonged to his partner, who is also the mother of their child. The pair had driven to Harbor Hospital to treat the victim’s partner’s broken finger. Upon arrival, they saw Mitchell and his girlfriend and attempted to find another hospital. The two couples allegedly have a history of animosity.

The victim testified that the shooting occurred following an altercation between Mitchell, another individual, and the victim. After the argument escalated, the victim entered the car and his partner attempted to drive away.

The victim’s partner told the court that she was unable to hear much from the exchange, but was certain she heard one of them say, “Shoot him.”

A sky blue Honda Odyssey minivan with a Virginia tag containing Mitchell and another man “appeared out of nowhere” alongside the Taurus, prompting the victim’s partner to speed up to avoid further altercations.

Video surveillance footage from the area captured the victim with his “full upper torso hanging out of the vehicle window” as both vehicles exited the parking lot. Shortly after, the Taurus was seen returning to the lot, and the victim entered the hospital for treatment. During a police interview, the victim’s partner told officers she heard a gunshot but did not see who opened fire.

Mitchell was stopped shortly after the incident at W. Patapsco Avenue and Annapolis Road. He was accompanied by another man, who told officers he and Mitchell dropped Mitchell’s girlfriend off at Harbor Hospital for treatment.

The other man testified that when the Odyssey and Taurus were adjacent, the victim had gestured toward his own waistband as if to imply he was armed.

The man admitted to owning a .45-caliber Glock 21 semi-automatic pistol with two magazines loaded with 13 rounds each and told officers it was inside a black cross-body satchel on the floor of the Odyssey.

On March 12, 2024, at approximately 2:15 p.m., officers executed a search and seizure warrant on the Honda Odyssey and, upon processing, recovered the pistol. Mitchell and the other man were released as persons of interest. The victim positively identified Mitchell from an array.

Mitchell was arrested on May 17 and transported to the Central Booking & Intake Facility, where he was charged with attempted first-degree murder.