Teen Accepts Plea in Shooting of Mother and Son

By Andrew Michaels - August 10, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

A 17-year-old accepted a plea offer on Aug. 10 in the attempted murder of his friend and his friend’s mother, who was shot 10 times in February 2020. 

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn presided over reception court on Tuesday.

Malik Bell, who is a Baltimore resident, was charged as an adult and faced two counts each of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to first-degree murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy to first-degree assault, firearm use in a violent crime, and reckless endangerment.

According to the prosecution, Malik’s friend and the friend’s mother were attempting to jumpstart a vehicle by their house on the 5000 block of Truesdale Avenue on Feb. 17, 2020, when the defendant, then 16, approached them and began shooting. Both victims ran in different directions, and while the son was not shot, his 46-year-old mother was shot in her chest, leg, shoulder, and feet.

The mother was treated and released from the hospital and later identified Bell through a photo array.

A week later, Fox 45 News reported, Baltimore Police arrested Bell inside Patterson High School, where he was found in possession of a loaded gun.

On Tuesday, defense attorney Lawrence Rosenberg said Bell chose to accept the prosecution’s plea of 50 years, suspending all but 30, and five years probation for one count of attempted first-degree murder; five years without the possibility of parole for reckless endangerment to run concurrently; and another 50 years, suspending all but 30, and five years probation for the second count of attempted first-degree murder.

In a separate case, Bell was also charged with being a minor in possession of a firearm and received a plea of five years to run concurrent with his other sentences.

Bell must also register as a gun offender upon his release and was recommended for the Patuxent Youth Program.

“I want Mr. Bell to know that you forever changed my life with what happened to me,” the mother said during a victim impact statement. “It affected my entire family, the community of younglings I work with, parents, family, and friends.”

The mother added that as a woman of God, she believes in second changes and forgave Bell for his actions.

Months after receiving a plea, Baltimore resident Edgar Nunez also decided to accept the prosecution’s offer after shooting at two siblings, one of whom was shot in the eye.

According to the prosecution, a plea of 35 years, suspending all but 20, the first five years without parole, and three years supervised probation was offered in May and again on Aug. 6 for attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and firearm use in a violent crime.

Last week, defense attorney Joseph Pappafotis asked the court to give Nunez more time to make a decision.

Nunez, 47, faced other charges, including attempted first-degree murder, having a handgun on his person, discharging a handgun in Baltimore, another count of first-degree assault and firearm use in a violent crime as well as two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.

According to the prosecution, Nunez was inside a liquor store watching football on Dec. 12, 2019, on the 5500 block of Belair Road and got into an altercation with a man outside. Nunez then began yelling insults at the man and his sister.

When Nunez pulled out two guns, the man shielded his sister and was shot in his right eye. The victim was later treated but lost his eye in the shooting.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Judge Phinn told the prosecution that the plea needed to be broken down by each charge, which resulted in the following: 20 years, suspending all but 10, with three years supervised probation for one count of attempted second-degree murder; 15 years, suspending all but 10, with three years supervised probation for first-degree assault; and 20 years, the first five years without parole, for firearm use in violent crime.

The sentences for attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault would run consecutively, and the sentence for firearm use in violent crime would run concurrently with the prior two sentences.

Nunez must also stay away from the victim and register as a gun offender.

The victim’s mother gave a victim impact statement on Tuesday, but technical difficulties interfered.

Although originally scheduled on Tuesday, the trial of Baltimore resident Anthony Evans, 29, was pushed to the new year after he rejected a plea offer.

Evans is charged with attempted first-degree murder, second-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, robbery, first and second-degree assault, firearm use in a violent crime, reckless endangerment, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, carrying a handgun, and discharge of a firearm, all stemming from an incident on Jan. 22, 2019.

More than a month ago, Evans’ defense attorney, Linda Zeit, filed a motion in order to secure Internal Affairs’ files on a 27-year Baltimore Police sergeant with the Baltimore Police Department, who was charged with official misconduct and attempted theft in February 2020.

Prosecutors said the sergeant charged the department for 10 hours of overtime, even though the jail-calls he was tasked to listen to were only 90 minutes long, according to the Baltimore Sun.

In June 2021, the prosecution said that the defense had a right to the files as part of the discovery process but that a “temporary production bottleneck” had delayed sharing of the material. 

Judge Robert Taylor granted the motion, and ordered the production of the documents by July 2.

On Tuesday, the prosecution presented a plea of life, suspending all but 40 years, with three years probation for attempted first-degree murder; a concurrent 20 years for second-degree murder; and a concurrent 20 years, the first five years without the possibility of parole, for firearm use in a violent crime.

Zeit rejected the plea on Evans’ behalf, and a trial was scheduled for Jan. 25, 2022.

The final non-fatal shooting case heard on Tuesday was rescheduled to return to reception court to give the prosecution and defense time to review discovery.

Baltimore resident Levern Gary Samuels, 32, is charged with attempted first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, firearm use in a violent crime, having a handgun on his person, having a handgun in a vehicle, and discharging firearms.

An offer of 15 years, suspending all but five, the first five without the possibility of parole, was presented by the prosecution but not discussed. Samuels is represented by defense attorney Jason Silverstein.

Samuels’ case is scheduled to return to reception court on Sept. 21.