Man Pleads Guilty to Fatal East Baltimore Shootout

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A 22-year-old accepted a plea agreement for killing a teenager in East Baltimore nearly a year after his death.

Accompanied by defense attorney Natalie Finegar, Montrez Braxton-Cherry pleaded guilty to the murder of 18-year-old Jamal Martin before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong on April 24.

Per the terms of the plea deal, Braxton-Cherry will serve 40 years, suspending all but 10 years, for second-degree murder and a consecutive sentence of 20 years, suspending all but five years without the possibility of parole for firearm use in a felony violent crime. He will also serve five years of supervised probation and be required to register as a gun offender upon release.

According to documents from the District Court of Maryland, on May 14, 2023, Baltimore Fire Department medics transported Martin from the 600 block of Bartlett Avenue to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died of a single gunshot wound. Baltimore Police Department investigators determined from surveillance footage that Braxton-Cherry opened fire on Martin on the 2300 block of Homewood Avenue. Martin shot back. Braxton-Cherry identified himself as the person on video who shot Martin in an interview with police.