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By
Andrew Michaels
- January 27, 2024
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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“Give her as much time because I’m never going to see my husband again.”
The wife of Clarence Joseph Buckner openly wept as she stood feet away from her husband’s goddaughter and accused killer, 28-year-old Lexus Hart.
Less than a week away from the two-year anniversary of Buckner’s death, Hart accepted an open plea agreement from the prosecution on Jan. 25 and faces a maximum sentence of life plus 40 years—a sentence that was tentatively scheduled for May 7.
Under an open plea agreement, the defendant’s sentence is at the discretion of the judge after the defendant pleads guilty to the specified charges. Hart pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with a maximum sentence of life as well as armed robbery and firearm use in a felony violent crime, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years each.
Thursday’s proceeding occurred before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill. Defense attorney Roland Harris represented Hart.
“As much as he did for you and you go and set him up?” Buckner’s wife cried during her impact statement. “I’m broken. I’m really broken.”
“Life plus forever is not going to bring him back,” the victim’s granddaughter added.
According to charging documents, Buckner left Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2022, and returned to his home on the 3300 block of Rueckert Avenue. A witness told Baltimore Police Department (BPD) detectives that Hart knocked on her godfather’s front door and asked to use the bathroom.
As the defendant was leaving, the prosecutor said on Thursday, she texted her co-defendant, 21-year-old Jaheim Battle, who then entered the residence, held Buckner and his wife at gunpoint and threatened to shoot Buckner’s wife if he did not hand over money.
Court documents state Battle followed Buckner from the casino.
Buckner then took Battle to a nearby bedroom, while Hart ran out a backdoor in the kitchen and Buckner’s wife ran to a neighbor’s home.
Detectives found Buckner on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to his chest around 5:55 p.m. The victim was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
“I appreciate the court for making sure my daddy wasn’t a number,” Buckner’s youngest daughter said, joined by more family members in the courtroom. “She didn’t kill a man; she killed a god. That man was a god to this family.”
Buckner’s youngest son also spoke, informing Judge Fletcher-Hill that he’s experienced this type of loss before, having lost both his mother and niece to gun violence.