Man Sentenced to 40 Years for Fatally Shooting Roommate Inside Their Apartment in 2023

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A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge sentenced Markis Russell to 40 years in prison on Oct. 30 for the murder of his roommate, 22-year-old Jeffery Brooks Jr., last year.

The 25-year-old defendant accepted the prosecution’s plea offer in May for second-degree murder as well as firearm use in a felony or violent crime. On Wednesday, Judge John A. Howard imposed a sentence of 40 years, suspending all but 35 years, for the murder charge and a consecutive 20 years, suspending all but five years without parole, for the weapons charge.

Russell, who was represented by defense attorney Thomas Maronick Jr., is also expected to serve five years of supervised probation upon his release.

According to charging documents, Brooks’ father reported his son missing to the Baltimore Police on March 23, 2023. Police interviewed the family at Brooks’ apartment that he shared with the defendant on the 3100 block of Mary Avenue. Russell was interviewed the following day when he gave a full confession to the crime.

Russell directed police to his vehicle, a 2009 Subaru Outback, that he parked behind Carroll Motor Fuels on the 6800 block of Harford Road. Brooks’ body was found inside the vehicle.

The defendant told police that he and the victim got into an argument over money, leading Brooks to come at Russell with a knife. Court documents state Russell said he then shot Brooks in the head before putting the victim’s body in the vehicle and abandoning it behind the gas station.