A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge denied bail for 21-year-old Jerson Guardado on Oct. 9 for his involvement in a drunken fight over a satchel containing a gun, that was followed by a shooting about 30 minutes later.
Guardado, also known as Gerson Padilla, is charged with five weapons violations, including discharging a firearm, and first-degree assault and reckless endangerment in connection to the incident on July 14 on the 3500 block of Leverton Avenue. Defense attorney Nandin Dave stood in for the defendant’s counsel, Reginald Jordan, during Friday’s hearing before Baltimore City Circuit Judge Anthony F. Vittoria.
According to court documents, an intoxicated Guardado allegedly got into a fight in the area with a friend over a satchel that held a firearm. About 30 minutes later, the defendant allegedly shot at a group of people sitting on the steps of a townhome on the 3400 block of Leverton Avenue.
During the bail review, pre-trial services informed Judge Vittoria that Guardado was on active supervised probation at the time of the shooting after being convicted of a robbery four months earlier. The defendant was sentenced to 10 years, suspending all but 135 days, the prosecutor said.
“Not only is he trying to fight someone, but he is also trying to retrieve a gun from a satchel,” the prosecutor said, adding that Guardado was “the loser” in the fight. “…He’s a threat not only to the victim, your honor, but also to the community.”
Dave argued that the defendant was “severely assaulted and acted in self-defense.” Court documents state that Baltimore Police found Guardado with lacerations on the front-right side and back-left side of his head, which were treated at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
The stand-in defense counsel requested private home detention, but Judge Vittoria denied bail.
“If you ever want this judge to approve home detention, you need to provide approval before [the proceeding],” the judge noted.
Prior to the shooting, police spoke with a cashier at a corner store who reported two people fighting outside on the 100 block of S. Conkling Street. Video surveillance footage was recovered from the area in addition to footage from Corona Grocery on the 3500 block of E. Lombard Street that reportedly captured the fight.
The video footage allegedly shows Guardado fighting one person and then fighting another person, who he told police was a friend and was in possession of the satchel. However, the person with the satchel pushed Guardado away.
Shortly after 8 p.m., police were called to the 3400 block of Leverton Avenue where the shooting victim said two men walked through an alley and toward him and his friends. One of the men — reportedly identified as Guardado — then allegedlytook out a black handgun and fired one shot in the group’s direction before running away.
Police allegedly found Guardado wearing a satchel and appearing distressed in an alley on the 0 block of S. Highland Avenue. In addition to his injuries, police believed the defendant was intoxicated given his glassy eyes, incoherent speech and inability to follow officers’ instructions, which Guardado confirmed.
When questioned by police, Guardado said the satchel belonged to him and that he was trying to get a knife from the bag “because he was angry,” court documents state. He also told police that he allowed his friend to put his firearm in the defendant’s bag, but then handed the bag to his friend because he was too drunk.
The defendant said he eventually retrieved the satchel with the gun inside and walked to the 3500 block of Leverton Avenue. However, he did not know what happened to the gun afterward.
Guardado is next scheduled to appear in reception court on Nov. 2 for a pre-trial hearing before Judge Melissa K. Copeland.
