A 33-year-old woman whose two pitbulls fatally attacked an elderly woman last June pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless endangerment during a plea hearing before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Nicole K. Barmore on Dec. 19, accepting an aggregate sentence of 15 years, suspending all but six days of time already served.
The plea was previously discussed during a Dec. 8 reception court hearing in which the defendant declared her intention to enter plea considerations rather than opt for a jury trial. Her defense attorney, Baltimore public defender John Deros, was notably absent from the Dec. 8 hearing, having fallen ill.
Following the guilty plea, Camree Hickerson is now set to serve five years of supervised probation. She will also remain indefinitely prohibited from owning pets and be required to complete 50 hours of community service within six months. Per the terms of the agreement, the prosecution won’t pursue Hickerson’s remaining charges, which included one count of reckless endangerment and two counts of failure to restrain a dangerous dog.
Charging documents note that on June 14, 2024, Hickerson left her two pitbulls, Moe and Prince, in a backyard, loosely looping their leashes around the top of a fencepost. The dogs escaped, killing 54-year-old Sheila Jones by inflicting bites to her arm and face on the 2000 block of N. Pulaski Street in Mondawmin. From there, they traveled to the 2100 block of Clifton Avenue, where they attacked a man and woman, biting at their legs, arms, and faces and leaving them with multiple injuries.
Hickerson has notably faced legal sanctions before due to the actions of her pit bulls, and was ordered to engage in corrective actions such as additional restraints and confinement measures. Basket muzzles and adequate backyard fencing were several directives Hickerson received.
Neither surviving victim was present at the plea hearing. The state’s attorney noted she attempted to reach them through various means – including phone calls, home visits, and letters – to no avail. However, she read a statement written by Jones’ daughter, who was unable to appear after contracting the flu.
Despite expressing grief and loss after her mother’s death, Jones’ daughter wrote that neither she nor her mother would have wanted Hickerson, a mother to a 3-month-old child, to serve time behind bars.
“Her kids need her,” wrote Jones’ daughter. “No children should be without their mother.”
She continued to write that the attack on her mother left her with a fear of dogs, and that she now requires medication to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder that she began suffering from in the aftermath. Still, she expressed her belief that it was the actions of animals, not a fellow human, that led to her mother’s death.
Hickerson, who began sobbing when she saw a photograph of her dogs, apologized to the court for her dog’s actions.
For involuntary manslaughter, Hickerson received a sentence of 10 years, suspending all but six days of time already served; five years of supervised probation; prohibition from owning pets; and 50 hours of community service, to be completed within six months. For her reckless endangerment charges, Hickerson was handed one consecutive and one concurrent five-year sentence.
Judge Barmore agreed to bind the court to the plea, acknowledging the wishes of Jones’ daughter and Hickerson’s visible remorse.
“It wasn’t at the hands of the defendant,” she concluded. “It was some animals, and there was some carelessness.”
