Attempted Murder Defendant Pleads Guilty to Weapons Charge

By Racquel Bazos - January 25, 2024
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

In an unusual show of “discretion” from the prosecution, a 47-year-old attempted murder defendant pleaded guilty to a minor weapons charge on Jan. 23 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer.

Antwain Jackson was charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, firearm use in a felony violent crime, having a handgun on his person and firing a gun in Baltimore City in connection to a June 25, 2023, incident on the 2800 block of East Monument Street.

Jackson accepted a plea deal from the prosecution and pleaded guilty to having a handgun on his person. 

During the plea hearing, the prosecutor told the court that the victim admitted that he had been trying to hit the defendant with his car. She offered the plea accepting that Jackson’s actions had been in self-defense, though she said the victim was not pleased with this development in the case. 

Defense attorney Jason Rodriguez told the court that his client had no prior criminal record, but did have a fiancee and a supportive family. 

“These actions were outside of his character,” said Rodriguez. With that, he requested that Judge Schiffer consider making the probation in this case unsupervised so that Jackson could see his children in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Before handing down her sentence, Judge Schiffer said, “It’s incredibly unusual … to have someone [his age] come in with a clean record.” She said the prosecution had “shown discretion” in agreeing to resolve the case this way.

Judge Schiffer sentenced Jackson to three years, suspending all but the time he’s already served since June 28, 2023. Jackson will complete two years of unsupervised probation and will be required to register as a gun offender. 

Documents from the District Court of Maryland state that the victim suffered a single graze wound, but his car had multiple bullet holes in it. The victim told police that Jackson threatened him for “messing with” Jackson’s girlfriend, who worked at a medical facility where the victim received treatment .