Man Sentenced to Home Detention After Accidentally Shooting Himself at Choptank Restaurant in 2022

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A 30-year-old man who accidentally shot himself inside Fells Point’s Choptank restaurant pleaded guilty to a gun charge on May 23.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. presided over Thursday’s proceeding when defendant Christian Johnson accepted 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 and must also register as a gun offender. Johnson was also charged with having a loaded handgun on his person, reckless endangerment and firing a gun in Baltimore City.

The prosecution and defense attorney Catherine Tarantino agreed to allow Johnson to serve the remainder of his time on home detention, which he has served continuously since August 2023. Johnson previously received probation before judgement for drug possession in 2017 and currently has a case pending in Baltimore County for additional weapons and drug charges.

Johnson’s recent charges stem from an incident at the Choptank restaurant on the 1600 block of Aliceanna Street on March 31, 2022, according to charging documents. When Baltimore Police responded to the scene, several people at the bar told officers that a man at the bar accidentally shot himself, which Johnson later confirmed.