Defendant Gets Supervised Probation for Bus Stop Shooting

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A 37-year-old Baltimore man was granted probation before judgement on May 15 for firing a gun at the ground to prevent what defense counsel argued could have been an assault or robbery.

Donte Brown and his defense attorney, Sarah West, appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy on Wednesday to accept the prosecution’s plea offer of three years, suspending all but one year, and three years of supervised probation for having a handgun on his person. At sentencing, Judge Handy told Brown that she was going to give him “a huge break,” specifically probation before judgement, given this was the defendant’s first offense.

Brown was later sentenced to three years of supervised probation and must register as a gun offender. The defendant was also told to pay $165 in court costs within six months.

The defendant told Judge Handy he accepted responsibility for his actions, which led to his home detention for the past seven months.

According to the prosecution, Brown was sitting on a bus stop bench on the 2700 block of West North Avenue on Oct. 22, 2023, when three people were walking towards him. He then pulled out a handgun and fired one shot at the sidewalk.

“He was essentially letting them know he had it,” West added, saying Brown feared he was going to be assaulted or robbed.

Baltimore Police responded to the scene after getting a ShotSpotter alert, the prosecutor continued. Brown initially told police he hadn’t heard anything, but confessed after officers saw a gun in his pocket. One shell casing was also found at the scene.