Cellmate Stabbing Culprit Escorted From Sentencing After Physical Struggle

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Proceedings in Lorenzo Thomas’ sentencing hearing grew tumultuous on July 21 after the 49-year-old attempted murder defendant erupted in an outburst that culminated in four law enforcement wrangling him out of Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Troy K. Hill’s courtroom.

Thomas was charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder and assault, possessing a weapon, and reckless endangerment for stabbing his cellmate at the Baltimore Central Booking & Intake Center on March 1, 2022. He was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder, possessing a weapon and reckless endangerment on March 24, and sentenced during proceedings to 10 years behind bars.

Charging documents state Thomas notified correctional staff the day of the incident to report an instance of flooding in the cell he shared with the victim. Officers supplied Thomas with a mop to soak up the water both in the cell and adjacent hallway into which the flooding had leaked. After entering the hallway, Thomas dropped the mop and ran toward his cellmate, who was in vicinity using a phone.

Thomas then began stabbing his cellmate with a 10-inch piece of sharpened scrap metal, and his cellmate responded likewise with a similar weapon. Thomas sustained a laceration on his left shoulder, and his cellmate one on the back of his head.

Staff responded and found the detainees separated and covered in blood following the altercation. Both Thomas and the victim were treated by medical staff and subsequently released back into custody.

The prosecution called Thomas’ actions part of “a nefarious plan” and claimed the defendant had “every intention to kill.”

Proceedings began devolving when Thomas began disputing the facts and investigators’ means of procuring evidence for a murder case he was connected to and incarcerated for as a juvenile.

“I caught that charge when I was a kid, when I was 15,” Thomas exclaimed to the court, contending that investigators in the incident had manipulated both evidence and potential suspects. He claimed he pleaded guilty for the crime following his mother’s advice.

The physical struggle that unfolded between Thomas and his attending officers ultimately pushed back two courtroom benches, as Thomas stumbled into them. He was led out in an agitated state.

“It comes with the territory,” said defense attorney James Sweeting III regarding the struggle. Sweeting, who stood alongside Thomas throughout proceedings, was uninjured in the outburst.

No further proceedings are scheduled in this case.