The co-defendant of a man who was sentenced Jan. 6 on manslaughter and gun charges may stand trial in March pending the acceptance of a plea offer.
The prosecution offered Nicholas Keating, 37, a sentence of 15 years, suspending all but five, followed by three years of supervised probation, agreeing to keep the offer on the table until the end of March 2. Should Keating accept, he would be pleading guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter, firearm use in a felony crime of violence, having a handgun on his person and possessing a firearm despite a previous disqualifying conviction.
Keating’s co-defendant, 47-year-old Antoine Courtney Manley, accepted an offer on the same counts, and is now set to serve a sentence of 20 years, suspending all but 10.
Keating did not appear at Manley’s sentencing, choosing to be tried separately on the same charges. The state’s attorney assigned to Keating’s case was unable to attend either hearing, having taken leave for personal matters and leaving a stand-in attorney to take his place.
Meanwhile, In reception court on Jan. 7, defense attorney John E. Cox sought a trial date of March 24, noting that was his earliest availability.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn complied, setting Keating trial for two days before Judge Jeannie J. Hong, though scheduling may change should Keating decide to accept the state’s offer.
Keating and Manley were charged in connection to a shootout that occurred during the early morning hours of April 24, 2025, on the unit block of E. North Avenue. The co-defendants are accused of chasing a man and shooting him in the lower back before fleeing the scene. Keating was later apprehended on the 1800 block of Lovegrove Street, where he was found attempting to hide in a patch of bushes.
Though both defendants were initially charged with attempted first-degree murder, the state agreed to downgrade the charge to attempted voluntary manslaughter, having found that they acted out of belief that their lives were in danger. Counsel suggested the victim was armed when he was shot, though investigators failed to recover a weapon linked to the victim.
Instead, two 9mm handguns were recovered from the scene – one Smith & Wesson pistol allegedly Keating’s, and one Canik pistol that was found in the basket of an electric bicycle and later linked to Manley.
