Attempted Murder Defendant Takes Nine Years in Last Year’s Shootout

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A 21-year-old Baltimore man agreed to plead guilty to assault and a firearm charge in connection to a shootout in the city’s Oliver neighborhood last August.

The defendant initially faced multiple counts of attempted first and second-degree murder, in addition to assault, reckless endangerment, and firearm charges.

Following a change in courtrooms on Sept. 13, defense attorney John Cox joined his client, Tyquan Williams, in the Cummings Courthouse where he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault for 20 years, suspending all but nine years, and three years of supervised probation and firearm use in a felony violent crime for a concurrent five years without parole.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John Howard presided over Tuesday’s proceedings.

Before entering the plea agreement, the prosecution informed the court that shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2021, officers with the Baltimore Police Department were called to the 1200 block of Harford Avenue near E. Preston Street for three shots fired. A walk-in shooting victim was reported shortly after police arrived at the scene and was later identified as Williams.

An investigation later revealed a shootout between Williams and two individuals.

The prosecutor said a police helicopter found the vehicle that dropped Williams off at the hospital and was led on a brief car chase before apprehending the other suspects, the details of which were not discussed on Tuesday.

Cox noted that although police found a handgun, there was no link established between the recovered handgun and the gun that was used in the shooting. It was also “debatable” who fired shots first, the defense attorney added.