Top Headlines of 2024 - Baltimore Witness

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Teenage Defendants Plead Guilty in 2023 Brooklyn Day Mass Shooting Case

Of the guilty plea deals offered in 2024, three defendants were charged in the 2023 Brooklyn Day mass shooting. Less than a year after the shooting that claimed the lives of 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi, two teenagers accepted the prosecution’s plea offer of 25 years, suspending all but five years, for first-degree assault and a concurrent five years for firearm possession as a minor in addition to five years of probation upon release.

Although the 15-year-old and a 16-year-old teens were not directly tied to Gonzalez or Fagbemi’s deaths, the prosecutor in these cases said the plea offer would not protect them from further prosecution if any evidence links them to the deaths.

A third defendant, 19-year-old Aaron Brown, also accepted a plea agreement of 60 years, suspending all but 12 years, for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder with five years of supervised probation. He also received the same sentence for attempted first-degree murder as well as five years without the possibility of parole for firearm use in a felony violent crime, which is slated to run concurrently. Brown was not charged for Gonzalez’s or Fagbemi’s deaths, but the prosecutor noted this could change given any new evidence.

Tristan Jackson is also facing nearly 60 charges in connection to the mass shooting on July 2, 2023, including attempted murder, assault and various weapons charges. He currently has a motions hearing scheduled on Feb. 10.

Man Receives Double Life Sentence for Fatally Strangling Inmate After ‘Axe Murdering’ Homeless Man

In a high-profile case that raised questions about the city’s backlogged court system, 35-year-old Gordon Zacharie Staron received a double life sentence for fatally strangling his 34-year-old deaf cellmate Javarick Gantt at a correctional facility where he was being held for charges connected to the murder of 63-year-old Keith Bell, a homeless man, with an axe earlier the same year.

Gantt’s death raised questions about the correctional officers’ decision to place a convicted murderer in the same cell as someone like Gantt, who required sign language to communicate and was detained on minor assault charges. Gantt was awaiting trial for those charges the night of his murder, prompting questions about the efficiency of the court system’s operations.

Staron murdered Gantt at the Central Booking and Intake Facility on the 300 block of East Madison Street, where he was placed after attacking Bell with a hatchet at a bus stop on the 1400 block of East Monument Street. The attack left Bell with six cutting wounds, 13 stab wounds and a fractured skull. Bell, who had been sitting at the bus stop with little more than “a bag of gummy bears,” was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The defense claimed that Staron suffered from substance abuse issues since childhood and suffered in poor living conditions while being housed at Central Booking. His defense attorney said he had been “jumped” and repeatedly prescribed and subsequently deprived of medications that could have improved his mental health. Judge Handy ultimately rejected the defense’s request for the possibility of parole, sentencing Staron to life without parole.

“This young man will never, ever see the light of day again or harm anyone outside the prison walls,” said the prosecution.

‘Menace to Society’: Getaway Driver in Contract Killing Receives Quadruple Life Sentence

Last September, tearful families filled Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn S. Mays’ courtroom as 25-year-old Datuan Blanchard received a quadruple life sentence for acting as a getaway driver in the contract killing of Leion Davis, Jr. and William Ferebee on June 20, 2022.

Blanchard received two consecutive life sentences for the murders and two more for conspiracy to commit them. He will also serve two concurrent 20-year sentences for firearm use.

The hit men who assassinated Davis and Ferebee were Blanchard’s cousins, said defense attorney Jason Rodriguez. He spoke of Blanchard’s remorse and dedication to remaining productive while incarcerated, noting that Blanchard distanced himself from his cousins while jailed. Blanchard’s role as getaway driver made him the “least culpable” of the co-conspirators, said Rodriguez.

The prosecution rejected Rodriguez’s argument and emphasized that accomplice liability legally made Blanchard “just as guilty as the two shooters.” Blanchard was previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter for driving over double the speed limit and killing his passenger, the prosecution noted.

Many among Davis’ family mourned the fact that Davis, a 23-year-old father at the time of his murder, would no longer be able to watch his daughter grow up. Davis’ aunt called Blanchard “a menace to society” and said he does not deserve to walk free.

Ferebee’s mother spoke about her 24-year-old son’s dreams of owning a landscaping business and love for sports. He was her only son. “Every day, when I go to sleep, I pray not to wake up,” she told the court.

“Today’s sentencing sends an unequivocal message: anyone orchestrating and carrying out acts of cold-blooded, premeditated violence will face full accountability,” the prosecution said in a press release after the sentencing. “He will never walk free again.”

Corner Store Owner Found Guilty for Firing at Teenage Girls

On Dec. 19, 2024, 48-year-old Nadeem Tajdin was found guilty of two counts of first-degree assault, firearm use in a felony crime and illegal possession of a firearm for firing a shotgun at two teenage sisters in his convenience store after one of them called his son a “dummy.” He was also found guilty of reckless endangerment, firing a gun in Baltimore City and illegal possession of ammunition.

The incident occurred on March 6, 2023 in the 3700 block of Edmonson Avenue, when the two girls, then ages 16 and 19, entered the store with two men to purchase snacks and cigars. According to Tajdin, he and his son asked the group to make their purchases quickly as the store was nearing closing time. This, he said, prompted one of the girls to call his son a “dummy,” a term that Tajdin said offended him.

“It upsetted me, so I told her my son is not a ‘dummy,’” he said. “She starts cursing me.”

He said he started cursing back and all four customers began punching and kicking the plexiglass between them, causing him to fear for the safety of himself, his son and the store. Video evidence presented by the prosecution showed that only one punch was thrown by the older sister. Footage also showed Tajdin’s son smiling behind the counter as his father raised the shotgun, leading the prosecution to question whether fear was the true motive behind the shooting.

Prior to the claims that he acted out of fear, Tajdin had testified that he discharged the gun by accident.

The prosecution argued that neither sister posed a threat to him, his son or his property, citing their petite statures and noting that “dummy” is a “very Baltimore” term of endearment, not unlike “buddy” or “homie.”

Tajdin and defense attorney Rodney Gray continued to refer to Tajdin’s shotgun as a “BB gun” throughout the trial, a term which the case’s lead detective later rejected. BB gunfire would have been too weak to cause the puncture found in the store’s plexiglass, said the detective, and Tajdin’s gun was easily identifiable as a 14-inch barrel shotgun due to its length and “massive hull.” The BB pellets recovered at the scene were the result of Tajdin using birdshot, a type of shotgun shell filled with smaller BB pellets.

Tajdin was later captured by the convenience store surveillance cameras wrapping the shotgun in a blue shopping bag. When the prosecution inquired about the firearm’s current whereabouts, Tajdin said he panicked and disposed of it that night by throwing it off a highway into an abandoned lot.

“The fact that he got rid of it so quickly means that it’s actually what we say it is,” said the prosecution.

Tajdin is scheduled for sentencing on March 20.