Defendant Rejects 30-Year Plea in Non-Fatal Shooting Case

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Travis Cothran, 46, rejected the prosecution’s plea offer of 60 years, suspending all but 30 in a shooting, before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland on May 7. He now faces a three-day jury trial beginning July 25 before Judge Hope Tipton.

Cothran is charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, firearm use in a violent crime, reckless endangerment, and several other firearm violations in connection to a 2024 non-fatal shooting incident that wounded a 35-year-old man.

Charging documents state that on Oct. 29, 2024, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert near a residence in the 1800 block of N. Collington Avenue.

Upon arrival, officers located an unidentified Black male, 35, suffering from a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the right leg. Officers applied a tourniquet until medics responded and transported him to an area hospital for treatment. He was listed in stable condition.

Evidence recovered on the scene included seven .45-caliber shell casings and one projectile.

Further investigation revealed the victim was outside the block conversing with his cousin when he was shot and fell to the ground. He later reported he was unfamiliar with the suspects or vehicles involved in the incident.

Detectives later recovered video surveillance footage from shortly before the shooting that captured the victim and two unidentified Black males standing outside of the 2100 block of E. North Avenue. Soon after, a 2014 Nissan vehicle with Maryland tags and two different sets of rims pulled up near the trio. Gunfire struck the victim from inside the vehicle, which fled towards Collington Street.

Witnesses compared photographic arrays and positively identified Cothran as an alleged suspect in this case.

During the hearing, Cothran alleged he had yet to speak with his defense attorney, Angela Shelton.

“She never came to see me,” he told Judge Copeland.

For the count of attempted first-degree murder, the prosecution offered Cothran 60 years, suspending all but 30, followed by five years’ supervised probation.

For firearm possession with a prior disqualifying felony conviction, Cothran was offered five years without the possibility of parole. The terms of the deal would also have required him to register with the Maryland Gun Offender Registry and maintain no contact with the victim. Stand-in defense attorney, Gregory Fisher, rejected the offer and opted for trial by jury.