Defendant Pleads Guilty in Double Shooting Case

By Erin Kim - March 26, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

On March 25, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta A. Brown accepted the guilty plea for the defendant’s involvement in a double shooting that resulted in a murder.

Kishawn Brooks, 22, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime, having a loaded handgun on his person, possessing a firearm with a felony conviction and having a handgun on his person for a March 12, 2023, double shooting incident.

Brooks pleaded guilty to the charge of firearm possession with a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. Defense attorney Jason Rodriguez and the assistant state’s attorney reached a plea agreement of 15 years, the first five  years without the possibility of parole. Brooks will also register as a gun offender upon release per the plea’s terms.

The defense said that the tragedy of this case was that the two people involved in this case, Brooks and the victim, were not the main parties in the altercation and that Brooks was only trying to play peacemaker, ushering people into the car before being drawn into the conflict. Rodriguez also mentioned that Brooks simply wanted to return home and provide for his four-year-old son, who was in the car at the time of the incident. 

Brooks asked the judge for a lighter sentence, stating, “I know the whole situation looks bad, but the reason I had the weapon is because I’ve been shot multiple times.” 

The assistant state’s attorney spoke on behalf of the victim’s relatives, who were present in the courtroom, and requested that the judge uphold the maximum sentence. 

The judge, while expressing understanding of the defendant’s situation, said, “There is no excuse for having the weapon” and that the defendant’s son would not have been in such danger if Brooks had not pulled out the gun.

The Baltimore Police Department arrested Brooks on March 28, 2023, in response to the murder of 32-year-old Juan Hill and the non-fatal shooting of a woman, which occurred on March 12, 2023 on the 1100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. The incident was said to have stemmed from an altercation between two women and eventually involved Brooks and Hill.