A Baltimore teen charged in an attempted murder and firearm case is scheduled to stand trial in September after rejecting a plea offer during a July 1 hearing before Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa M. Phinn.
On Wednesday, Josiah Sweeney-Teal, 18, appeared alongside defense attorney Chelsea Steiner, who was standing in for attorney Justin Hollimon.
Sweeney-Teal, who was indicted in January, is charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and four gun offenses in connection to a Sept. 4, 2025 incident on the 3900 block of Reisterstown Road.
According to charging documents, surveillance video showed muzzle flashes coming from a heavyset, light-skinned male wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, whom witnesses later identified Sweeney-Teal as a suspect.
In June, the court denied a motion seeking to transfer the case to juvenile court, allowing the prosecution to continue in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
During the Wednesday hearing, prosecutors extended a plea offer of 30 years, suspending all but 15, with five years of supervised probation on the attempted second-degree murder charge, The offer also included a concurrent five-year sentence without parole for the firearm use charge.
Under the proposed agreement, Sweeney-Teal would have been required to register to the Maryland Gun Offender Registry upon release.
Sweeney-Teal rejected the proposal. He also waived his speedy trial deadline of July 28.
Following Sweeney-Teal’s waiver, Judge Phinn scheduled the defendant for trial beginning Sept. 15 before Judge Emanuel Brown, with three days allotted for proceedings.
