Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Hope Tipton said Jaylen Hopkins, 18, made “three poor choices” on July 27, 2025, when he shot an innocent bystander on the 1000 block of S. Charles Street: having a gun, loading it and shooting the gun.
Hopkins accepted a plea deal on July 28, a year since the incident, on first-degree assault and use of a firearm in a felony violent crime charges for 25 years suspending all but 15, five years of supervised probation, five years without possibility of parole, registration as a gun offender and to have no contact with the victim.
Judge Tipton also added that Hopkins must complete a GED course of study so that he has a chance of having a job after getting out of prison. The other 10 charges were dismissed as part of the deal.
“I do not understand how folks deal with conflict by pulling out a firearm,” Judge Tipton said. “We have failed our children by not teaching them conflict resolution.”
The shooting victim delivered an impact statement, saying she remembered being shot in her left shoulder and not knowing if she was going to die lying on the ground.
She remembered thinking about her daughter who was barely one-year–old, wondering if she’d grow up without a mother. The victim finished by saying she will never be the same woman she was as a result of the physical and emotional damage caused by the shooting..
Defense attorney Justin Hollimon said Hopkins apologized to the victim and accepts the guilty plea as owning up to his mistakes.
The case against Hopkins, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was moved from juvenile court and tried as an adult due to the serious nature of the crime.
“I hope that you turn your life around,” Judge Tipton finished.
