Elijah Jones was sentenced to 35 years, suspending all but 10, for his role in a 2024 shooting near Highland Avenue, following a plea before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia H. Jones on Nov. 6.
Jones, 44, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, use of a firearm in a felony violent crime, and possession of a rifle or shotgun with a prior felony conviction. He must serve five years without the possibility of parole and will be placed on three years of supervised probation upon release.
During the hearing, the prosecutor discussed Jones’ extensive criminal history, including two prior convictions for illegal firearm possession and multiple drug distribution offenses. She also noted that Jones was on probation when the shooting occurred.
Defense attorney Augustine C. Okeke urged leniency, arguing that his client “has suffered enough,” having been incarcerated since his arrest on May 29, 2024.
According to charging documents, officers were dispatched to the 3400 block of Pulaski Highway on April 29, 2024, after reports of an audible alarm inside a Popeyes restaurant. Employees told police a man had run inside the back room and refused to come out.
When officers ordered the man out, he said he had fled from a nearby shooting, claiming “a guy with an AK-47 started shooting three times” at him near the 200 block of N. Highland Avenue.
Officers soon discovered evidence of gunfire nearby, including a shell casing, a shattered business window, and a vehicle with a bullet hole below its passenger-side mirror.
Surveillance footage captured two male suspects firing at several individuals, one wearing a white T-shirt, blue hat, and white-and-blue sneakers armed with a rifle, and another in khaki pants and a black shirt carrying a handgun.
Jones was later arrested, armed with a rifle-style handgun. During a recorded interview, Jones admitted that he and another man had gone to Highland Avenue to confront someone while armed with the same rifle he was apprehended with. Although Jones claimed he never fired the weapon, surveillance video showed otherwise.
Jones was initially charged with 25 counts, including three counts each of attempted first- and second-degree murder, along with multiple firearm and assault-related offenses.
All remaining counts were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
