Victim Expresses Sympathy for Young Defendant Pleading Guilty to Attempted Murder

By Ting Hong [former] - February 7, 2023
Attempted Murder | Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

“I wish the best for him,” said a victim during the plea hearing for the defendant accused of shooting at him. 

Defendant Maarufu Allston pleaded guilty before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays on Feb. 6 for the attempted murder of the delivery driver in 2022. 

On Jan. 20, Allston fired two shots at a delivery driver, shattering the windows of the victim’s vehicle. The defendant was detained by the police after they heard the shots. 

The prosecution offered Allston, 22, a plea of 50 years, suspending all but 12 years with five years of supervised probation for attempted first-degree murder and a concurrent five years without the possibility of parole for the use of a firearm in a felony violent crime. 

Allston and his defense attorney, Rodney Gray, accepted the plea offered by the prosecutor. 

The victim, a Marine Corps veteran, said he had decided to forgive the defendant, but he could not forget what happened to him that day.

He expressed how the case was no accident as the defendant “looked [him] in the eyes.” He recalled not being able to imagine a world for his children without him. However, the victim had sympathy for the defendant as his oldest child is 19 years old and ultimately wished Allston well in the future. 

Gray acknowledged Allston’s parents who were present during the hearing, while also describing how Allston has “humbled himself” by deciding to go to prison.