Not Guilty: Defendant in Decades-Old Homicide Case Denied 4th Motion to Modify Sentence

By Yihan Zhao [former] , Andrew Michaels - July 28, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A Baltimore resident who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for a shortened sentence more than two decades ago was denied a motion to modify his sentence on July 28 at the Baltimore City Circuit Court. 

According to a detective’s court statement, three men were at a bus stop around midnight on June 2, 1998, when they heard gunshots coming from down the street. Worried that someone they knew was hurt, the men walked down the street and came across the defendant, Thomas Shedrick, who was in the passenger seat of a car on the 300 block of S. Pulaski Street.

Shedrick, 47, started shooting at the men, who then ran away as he continued to shoot from his car. One of the men was killed after being shot in the back of the head while running down an alley to escape. One of the other men suffered multiple non-fatal gunshot wounds.

A year later, under Judge Emanuel Brown, the prosecution said, Shedrick pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a sentence of life, suspending all but 40 years, and five years of supervised probation; two 25-year sentences for each count of first-degree assault; and 20 years for using a handgun in committing a crime. All sentences are running concurrently.

Wednesday’s proceedings marked Shedrick’s fourth motion to modify his sentence. His previous motions were heard on May 2019, November 2018 and October 1999.

On Wednesday, Shedrick appeared in a Zoom hearing before Judge Erik S. Atas without a defense attorney for a motion to modify his sentence. Shedrick expressed that he has been reflecting on the murder and regrets “messing up people’s lives when he was young.”

“When I first received my time, I didn’t know what it meant,” Shedrick said. “I can’t change what I did. God knows I wish I could because it haunts me every day. I want a chance to prove that I’m worthy to reenter society.”

Shedrick also noted that he “started doing work” in prison, including receiving his GED.

The prosecutor argued for the motion to be denied, referring to a detective’s court statement that neither the victims nor the other people in the car knew why Shedrick shot and continued to shoot at the victims even as they ran away. 

The prosecution also explained that Shedrick already benefited from the shortened sentence in terms of his accepted plea and that he is eligible for parole after serving 20 years of his sentence.

The brother of the victim who died, was present on Wednesday. He said that though his mother and sister would like for Shedrick to remain in prison for life, he believes Shedrick “deserves to have a second chance.”

Judge Atas denied the motion, citing a Maryland law that states that a sentence cannot be modified after more than five years. However, Shedrick’s motion was filed on May 20, 2019, nearly 20 years after July 14, 1999.

Another motion to modify a sentence was scheduled in the case of Baltimore resident Ronnie Donte Jones; however, due to technical difficulties, Judge Atas postponed the motion to Aug. 31.

Jones, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, using a handgun in committing a crime, and violation of probation.

Another case scheduled for Wednesday was not called during the proceedings.

According to the Baltimore Police Department, Dontaz Lavan Brandon, then 18, and William Maurice Neely Jr., then 19, allegedly shot and killed 20-year-old Donald Symptom on Feb. 1, 2017, after following him down the 4700 block of Hampnett Avenue.

Brandon turned himself in a few weeks later and was charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

According to the Maryland Judiciary website, the charges against Brandon, 23, were dismissed on Dec. 7, 2017, but then reactivated two years later.

On Wednesday, Brandon did not appear in court, and the Criminal Clerk’s Office informed Baltimore Witness that his case was dismissed.

Editor’s note: the defendant was found not guilty on July 12.