Judge Sentences Dollar Store Murder Defendant to Serve Nearly 50 Years

By Racquel Bazos - January 16, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John A. Howard sentenced a 26-year-old homicide defendant in excess of his sentencing guidelines despite all efforts by the defense to show mitigating circumstances in a hearing on Jan. 16. 

Quintell Holmes was charged with second-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime and firearm possession with a felony conviction in connection to the Dec. 29, 2022, death of 25-year-old Clarence Allen Adkins. 

On Sept. 25, 2023, Holmes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and firearm use in a felony violent crime. 

The victim’s family did not read any impact statements to the court, electing instead to hand the judge a folder with multiple written statements to consider. 

Defense attorney Karyn Meriwether told Judge Howard the incident was “a classic Baltimore situation,” stemming from a “misinterpretation.” Documents from the District Court of Maryland state that Holmes and Adkins had gotten into an argument in a Dollar Store on the 2000 block of West Pratt Street. When the argument escalated outside of the store, Holmes chased and fired on Adkins, continuing to shoot him after he was on the ground.

Despite the fact that the prosecution asked the judge for 12 years over the sentencing guidelines, Meriwether said that Holmes was grateful to plead guilty to second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder. 

Meriwether called a licensed social worker who had written a report on Holmes before the sentencing to testify. The social worker explained to the court that Holmes “did not get what he needed” in childhood, as he was raised by his mother and grandmother who both struggled with substance abuse. She particularly emphasized that Holmes’ lack of a father and role model had a detrimental effect on his life.

Holmes suffered a series of personal tragedies in the three years leading up to the murder. Holmes’ mother, grandmother and best friend died. Holmes himself was shot in the back twice and was nearly permanently paralyzed. But the loss that shattered Holmes the most was that of his one-year-old son by acid reflux.

It was the social worker’s opinion that due to the consecutive losses in Holmes’ life, he had prolonged grief disorder. 

Holmes turned to drugs to numb himself, she said. On the day of the incident, Holmes had ingested marijuana, suboxone and MDMA — substances he took daily at that time.

Meriwether said Holmes had been remorseful from the first moments after the incident. He gave a full confession to Baltimore Police Department investigators and admitted that he shouldn’t have had a gun or been using drugs. She said that he took the plea in part to spare the families the “horror” and stress of a jury trial.

In Holmes’ address to the court, he apologized to the victim’s family and said he wanted to “commit [himself] to getting better.”

Judge Howard was not moved. He said he found it “ironic” that the expert and Meriwether represented Holmes’ absent father as having a severe negative impact on his life when Holmes himself will be an absent father to his five-year-old daughter. Judge Howard went on to say that he didn’t believe Holmes’ acknowledgement that he shouldn’t have had a gun or been on drugs mitigated anything. 

In an aggregate sentence combining the offenses in this case and a separate charge for firearm possession with a felony conviction, Judge Howard sentenced Holmes to serve 60 years, suspending all but 48 years, with five years of probation upon release. 

Per requests from the prosecution and defense, Judge Howard will also recommend Holmes to the Patuxent Eligible Person Program, an intensive rehabilitative program offered by the Department of Corrections.