May 2021 Murder Defendant Accepts 30 Year Plea 

By Eleni Christou [former] - October 30, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Oct. 30, Steven Arthur appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy to accept a plea offered extended by the prosecutor. 

Arthur, 33, is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, firearm use in a felony violent crime, possessing a firearm with a felony conviction, an attempt to kill/murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and first-degree assault in connection to a May 2021 incident. 

The prosecutor’s offer included a sentence of life, suspending all but 30 years, with an additional five years of supervised probation on the count of first-degree murder. It also included 20 years without the possibility of parole for the first five years on the count of using a firearm in a felony violent crime.

Arthur would also have to register as a gun offender and agree to no contact with victims and their families. The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in a total prison sentence of 30 years, the first five years without the possibility of parole, and five years of supervised probation. 

With the advice of his attorney, Brandon Thornton, Arthur tearfully accepted the plea. 

According to District Court of Maryland documents, a victim alerted Baltimore Police Department (BPD)officers to a crime scene on 1900 block of West Fayette Street where they located, Jameo McClean, 33, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. 

Investigators concluded there was a contact via Facebook Messenger between McClean and a man identified as “Steve.” Steve and another man ultimately wound up in McClean’s house. Reportedly, the three were in a dispute over money when gunshots were fired. Police say two masked suspects were involved, and they proceeded to assault four other victims.  

An investigation of McClean’s Facebook Messenger page, identified Steven Arthur as “Steve.” Arthur and his co-defendant, Jerome Jermey Johnson, were located and arrested. Johnson was identified through a DNA comparison and was sentenced to life on Oct. 20.