Shooting defendant Brian Bruce, 43, rejected a plea offer for life, suspending all but 40 years on June 25, opting instead for a jury trial.
The plea also included five years of supervised probation. In rejecting the offer, defense attorney Christopher O’Meara informed the court that today was the defense’s “first time hearing the offer.”
Bruce is charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, firearm use in a felony violent crime and related gun offenses in connection to a Dec. 29, 2024 shooting. Bruce was disqualified from possessing a firearm at the time of the crime due to a prior felony conviction.
Charging documents state that at approximately 12:23 a.m. on the day of the shooting, Baltimore City police officers responded to the 1600 block of Inverness Avenue for a report of gunfire. Upon arrival, officers learned a shooting victim had walked into St. Agnes Hospital for treatment. Officers responded to the hospital, where the victim informed them he had been coming from a club downtown and was in his vehicle when he was shot.
Investigators located several 9mm and .40-caliber shell casings scattered near the area of the crime, along with several vehicles bearing visible damage. Area surveillance footage reportedly caught an unknown man exiting a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and firing at other vehicles.
On Jan. 2, 2025, four days after the shooting, the Tacoma was found abandoned on the side of a road with bullet holes and a license plate that matched the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage. A witness allegedly allegedly confirmed Bruce drove the vehicle on the day of the shooting.
Detectives also recovered a .40-caliber pistol that was tested and found to closely match some of the casings at the crime scene.
In reception court on Thursday, the state’s attorney informed Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland of pending body-worn camera footage from the Anne Arundel Police Department. The state also placed on record that they have an out of state witness for trial.
The trial was scheduled for Aug. 27, with three days allotted for proceedings. Proceedings will be heard in front of Judge Charles H. Dorsey.
