‘I Fully Expect for You to Die in Prison,’ Judge Tells Defendant at Sentencing in 2022 Gretna Court Murder

By Andrew Michaels - January 12, 2024
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

At the sentencing of convicted homicide defendant Joel Ugah, family members of 32-year-old Brittany Keyser implored Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Doory to “lock him up and throw away the key” for his “senseless, cruel and merciless” actions that led to the fatal shooting of their loved one in April 2022.

Ugah, 38, was convicted of Keyser’s murder and the attempted murder of the father of her child on Oct. 31, 2023. The defendant and his defense attorney, Lawrence Rosenberg, returned to court on Jan. 12 for his sentencing.

On April 15, 2022, Keyser and the now-32-year-old surviving victim went to the 800 block of Gretna Court shortly after 6:00 a.m. to buy drugs from Ugah. Following an altercation, the defendant shot Keyser in the head, killing her, and shot her boyfriend in the back of his neck.

“Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for what was to come of this trial,” Keyser’s sister-in-law told Judge Doory at Friday’s sentencing. “… He brutally killed someone and was calm enough to just wipe the car down before returning it,” referring to the rental car Ugah had at the time of the shooting.

“Please, Your Honor, do not ever let him out to do this again,” she continued, tearfully.

Keyser’s stepmother and sister also provided victim impact statements. Both women reiterated Ugah’s lack of remorse, citing a jail call during which he said, “Bitch shoulda let me dip,” in reference to his altercation with the victim.

Rosenberg acknowledged this “terrible crime,” but noted that his client maintained his innocence, which explained his lack of remorse.

In a brief statement to the court, Ugah said the prosecution “controlled the narrative” of his case and “manipulated evidence in the direction they wanted it to go in.”

The prosecution recommended a sentence of life plus 50 years, saying Ugah was “someone who has seen the inside of a jail cell before and someone who has seen the inside of a courtroom before.”

At the conclusion of the proceeding, Judge Doory imposed a sentence of life for first-degree murder, a consecutive 20 years for firearm use in a felony or violent crime and a consecutive 25 years, suspending all but 15 years, and five years of supervised probation for attempted second-degree murder.

The charge of having a handgun on his person was merged with firearm use in a felony or violent crime.

“You made the conscious decision to kill someone. You did anything you could to shoot and kill [the surviving victim],” the judge said. “I fully expect for you to die in prison because that is the place for a murderer to die.”

Ugah’s sentence will date back to his arrest on May 10, 2022.