A defendant charged in a shooting received probation before judgement on June 5 in a case heard by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea Handy. That means you’re found guilty but get probation instead of a sentence.
Juan Benavides is charged with having a loaded handgun on his person, having a handgun on his person, and discharging a firearm in a non-fatal shooting on the 2300 Block of McElderly Street on March 8, 2026. Baltimore Police Department officers say they found Benavides, 50, at the scene, where he was hiding his right side while being questioned. Three juveniles were sitting around him while he was drinking alcohol, according to police documents.
After Benavides consented to a full body search, police allegedly found a handgun in his right pants pocket. After he was detained, police reporteldy found a magazine in his left pocket that matched the handgun.
Police investigating the scene recovered a shell casing by the steps adjacent to where Benavides was standing when officers arrived. The shell casing also likely matched his handgun.
Benavides is prohibited from carrying a firearm because he was not a citizen of the United States.
On March 9 he was initially sentenced by District Court Judge Carol M. Johnson to five years in prison with one year suspended, and a two years on probation. Benavides appealed the sentence.
During Friday’s proceeding, Benavides’ defense attorney Saba Younis asked Judge Handy for a lesser sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
Judge Handy struck the guilty finding from his record. Benavides is set to serve one day of unsupervised probation now that he is released.
