Tyrone Bennett, 34, was sentenced to 30 years of minimum time on May 29, more than five months after he pleaded guilty to the accidental killing of Donte Long, 51, in 2024.
Bennett pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and felony firearm use on Dec. 11, 2025, several days into his jury trial. The court bound itself to the state’s offer, which consisted of life, suspending all but 30 years on the murder charge and a concurrent five years without parole for firearm use.
Upon completion of his sentence, Bennett will be required to serve five years of supervised probation and register as a gun offender. His remaining three gun charges were dismissed per the agreement’s terms.
Multiple members of Long’s family attended the sentencing and delivered impact statements before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Nicole K. Barmore. The state’s attorney noted Long, who was killed the evening of Dec. 16, 2023 in East Baltimore, was not Bennett’s intended target that night.
According to defense attorney William Buie III, Bennett and his girlfriend had been at a corner store near the 1300 block of N. Bradford Street when Bennett’s girlfriend was “inappropriately touched by someone—not the victim in this case.” During Bennett’s trial last December, the state’s attorney stated Bennett returned to the area later that night and “sprayed a bunch of shots” toward the intersection of North Bradford and East Preston Streets, fatally striking Long in the process.
Medical examiners ruled Long’s death a homicide caused by a single gunshot wound to his hip.
“Nothing you can say will ever satisfy me,” Long’s mother wrote in her impact statement. The state’s attorney read the letter to the court after Long’s mother became overwhelmed by tears. “Nothing the justice system hands down will ever be enough.”
Two of Long’s aunts, as well as one of his uncles, gave similarly grief-stricken statements, saying they can’t forgive Bennett for their loss and describing the pain they endured in the aftermath of the shooting.
Buie called his client a 34-year-old father to four daughters who “has been able to maintain some relatively good employment” with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works. He added that Bennett has long suffered from cognitive disabilities and submitted documentation from his client’s previous schools that attested to his low IQ. Bennett had also suffered from lead paint exposure, Buie said, and was a “victim” of its long term side effects.
Bennett addressed the court as well, apologizing for the grief he caused.
“Now I’m asking the family of Donte Long for forgiveness,” he read. “I want you to know that I, Tyrone Bennett, is truly sorry.”
