Homicide Defendant Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Uptown Bar Shooting

By Brooke Uzzell [former] - April 22, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On April 21, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays sentenced a homicide defendant to a total of 20 years in prison with 15 months of time served, following a jury trial in March. 

Darrius Lemar Jordan, 33, was found guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree assault in connection to the fatal shooting of Guy Thomas, 52, on Feb. 12, 2021. 

Before sentencing, Judge Mays listened as Roya Hanna, Jordan’s defense attorney, explained to the court how the defendant suffers from PTSD, citing the traumas and abuse he experienced during his childhood as a foster child.  

Exposing Jordan’s state of mind during the time of the murder, Hanna revealed that Jordan’s wife was recently murdered, and no one has yet to be found responsible. This caused an enormous amount of stress for Jordan, who is now tasked with raising one of his children alone. 

Hanna implored to the court how Jordan would like to get back to his son, and he would like to work with children in the future. She said he is also willing to go to drug court and is a perfect candidate for probation with 15 months of time served, elaborating that the jury found no evidence of a brutal assault, and there was no intent for Jordan to cause serious bodily harm to Thomas. 

The prosecutor recalled what happened to Thomas in court, describing how the defendant hit and kicked the victim inside the bar and outside the bar, which led to his death.  Describing the attack on Thomas as brutal, the prosecutor made it well known to the court that the victim was well-respected in the community. 

“The jury found Jordan guilty of two second-degree assault charges and so the prosecution asks that the defendant be served a full sentence, 10 years for each charge,” said the prosecutor. 

Thomas’ sisters and his niece read victim impact statements during the proceeding. In their statements, they told the judge how much they will miss Thomas and the PTSD they now share from the day of the incident.

The victim’s niece spoke about how her son, who has a disability, would only want to be around Thomas She said her son would spend nights with Thomas, but now that does not happen anymore because he was murdered. According to the victim’s niece, Thomas had open heart surgery and a stroke within a year before his death. 

“There was no fight, the victim never fought back, the victim never had a chance to fight,” said Judge Mays, emphasizing how Thomas’ recovery from open heart surgery and a stroke could not prompt him to fight back. 

Because of the outrageous actions of the defendant and the condition of the victim, Judge Mays sentenced Jordan to 10 years with 15 months of time served on one count of second-degree assault, and 10 years on the second count of second-degree assault that ultimately led to Thomas’ death. These sentences are to run consecutively. The maximum sentence term for second-degree murder is 40 years in prison, according to the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines Manual produced by the Maryland State Commission on Sentencing Policy.

According to CBS Baltimore, on Feb. 12, at approximately 1 a.m., officers responded to reports of gunshots on the 1900 block of Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore. On arrival, officers found 52-year-old Guy Thomas suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

The victim was later pronounced dead by medics.