A 20-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Oct. 15 after pleading guilty to the 2023 mass shooting at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center that killed 16-year-old Deanta Dorsey and injured four others.
In July, Bryan Johnson, who was 16-years-old at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence and three counts of attempted first-degree murder for the shooting outside a Popeyes restaurant on the block of 4400 Edmondson Avenue on Jan. 4, 2023. Johnson reportedly met up with his co-defendant, Daaon Spears, before the shooting, which occurred during lunchtime at Edmondson High School.
Spears was acquitted of 31 counts in February — including two counts of first-degree murder, multiple counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder and numerous firearms charges — following a three-day jury retrial.
All of the victims were high school students, the prosecutor said. Dorsey was shot 16 times. Two of the victims were ages 16 and 17, while the remaining two victims were both 18 years old, all of whom suffered gunshot and graze wounds.
On Thursday, five correctional officers and four Baltimore City Sheriff’s deputies joined Johnson in Circuit Court Judge Lynn S. Mays’ courtroom, alongside the defendant’s attorney, Hunter Pruette. Family and friends of the defendant filled five rows in the gallery in addition to multiple rows of Dorsey’s family members.
Pruette acknowledged that Johnson “took responsibility” for his actions when he pleaded guilty this past summer. Although defense counsel did not specify, he said Johnson has since earned multiple certificates during his incarceration and is working in prison and “making progress.”
“There is immeasurable pain through this courtroom,” Pruette acknowledged. “…I see the hope in Mr. Johnson.”
After submitting the pre-sentencing investigation as an exhibit, the prosecutor informed Judge Mays that Johnson previously said, “I don’t deny it,” regarding the shooting, which she said she interpreted as an admission of guilt.
During the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) investigation, detectives found a book bag containing two empty magazines inside Johnson’s mother’s home. An arrest warrant was served on Aug. 19, 2024.
“There is no justice” no matter the offer, Dorsey’s aunt said in her victim impact statement. “…This young man had no remorse for what he did.”
The prosecutor also read a letter written by multiple family members, saying that Johnson thought he was manly when he committed the mass shooting.
“Now, he has to face a manly consequence,” the prosecutor read.
For first-degree murder, Judge Mays sentenced Johnson to life, suspending all but 25 years, and five years of supervised probation. The defendant is also required to complete drug and alcohol screening and treatment and anger management, earn his GED and register as a gun offender upon his release.
Johnson received the same sentence for three counts of attempted first-degree murder to run concurrently as well as a concurrent 20 years, the first five years without parole, for using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence.
