Defendant Pleads Guilty to Gun Possession Before Trial

Baltimore Courthouse

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On June 20, a 19-year-old Baltimore man accepted a plea deal to a Greenmount Avenue shooting before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Alan C. Lazerow

Rito Cox, III pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a minor for the incident that occurred on June 15, 2023, on the 2600 block of Greenmount Avenue. The plea is for three years in prison, suspending all but time served. He is required to serve five years of probation upon release and register as a gun offender. 

Cox is still stated to go to trial for eight charges, including attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, illegal possession of ammunition, carrying a handgun on his person and firing a gun in Baltimore City. 

Opening statements for the trial began Thursday afternoon.

According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) responded to the Union Memorial Hospital for a walk-in shooting victim. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen.