A 20-year-old shooting suspect is set to serve 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to first-degree assault and firearm use before Baltimore City Circuit Court Catherine Chen on May 4.
Members of defendant Bredin A. Duran-Duban’s family grew emotional as Judge Chen confirmed he was entering the plea knowingly and voluntarily. Though the state initially recommended a maximum sentence of 40 years, suspending all but 20, Judge Chen ultimately settled on a lesser sentence of 20 years, suspending all but 10.
Duran was initially charged with attempted murder, assault and multiple gun offenses for an Aug. 20, 2024 shooting on the 3100 block of McElderry Street in Southeast Baltimore. Baltimore Police responded to the scene that afternoon to find 11 shell casings, but no victim or suspect. The prosecutor argued his actions were “unjustifiable and created a serious threat to everyone on that block.”
Duran was arrested over a year later on in September 2025 after the alleged victim recognized the defendant working at a smoke shop in the city. The victim then notified police, who arrested Duran and took him in for questioning. According to charging documents, Duran told detectives he “felt disrespected” by the victim, and that the two had been embroiled in a “dispute over a woman they were both dating.”
Duran’s defense attorney, Mary Patton, said her client fully cooperated with the investigation and admitted to the shooting, telling detectives, “I take responsibility for my actions.”
Patton also said Duran “made the decision that he did” based on previous interactions with the victim, whom he often knew to be armed. Patton admitted she would have employed a self-defense argument if the case had gone to trial.
She argued for a lighter sentence of 10 years, suspending all but five, with a recommendation to the Patuxent Institute, a correctional facility that aims to provide inmates with treatment and educational resources. She added that Duran moved from Honduras to the United States at the early age of six and has been working in recent years to obtain his green card. His plea, she said, will likely derail the process and lead to his deportation back to Honduras.
Judge Chen extended empathy to the young defendant, both as a daughter to immigrants and a mother of children around Duran’s age. Though she agreed his plea will likely. result in his deportation, she urged him to consider his family’s ongoing support and his potential as a young man.
“I need you to survive,” she said. “I’m just asking that whatever happens, you recognize that you’re loved…Please don’t forget that.”
Duran was ultimately sentenced to 40 years, suspending all but 10 on the charges of first-degree assault and firearm use. He will be required to complete five years of supervised probation upon release and maintain no contact with the victim.
“You deserve so much more than where you’re at right now,” Judge Chen told him. “Please remember who you are, even when it’s really, really difficult.”
