Grandmother Pleads to Endangerment in Death of 10-Year-Old Granddaughter

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Consider making a donation to help us continue our mission.

Alethea Mitchell, 51, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and firearm possession as a prohibited person before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn S. Mays on June 9.

Mitchell was originally charged with leaving an unloaded firearm in close proximity of an unsupervised minor, reckless endangerment, altering physical evidence in a criminal proceeding and multiple firearm-related offenses in connection to the death of her ten-year-old granddaughter.

On Jan. 25, police responded to the 3500 block of Ingleside Avenue. There, they reportedly located E’vaa Sewell on a bed in one of the residence’s bedrooms, surrounded by blood. Sewell was transported to John Hopkins Pediatrics, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries three days later. Officers recovered a pink 9mm Diamondback Arms pistol and a magazine with a live round in a tote bag beneath a pile of clothes. They later found the pistol was stolen in a burglary that occurred Nov. 29, 2017 in North Carolina.

Mitchell initially claimed that the gun belonged to her ex-boyfriend, but later recanted and admitted to moving the gun and magazine before police responders arrived. Mitchell, who has prior convictions of burglary and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, is not legally allowed to own a gun.

Mitchell was ultimately sentenced to 15 years, suspending all but nine, followed by five years of supervised probation upon release.