Elijah Jones was sentenced to 35 years in prison, with all but 10 years suspended, for his role in a 2024 shooting along Highland Avenue, following a plea before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia H. Jones on November 6.
Jones, 44, pled guilty to first-degree assault, using a firearm in a felony violent crime, and possessing a rifle or shotgun with a previous felony conviction. He will serve five years without the chance of parole and be placed on three years of supervised probation upon release.
During the hearing, the prosecution went over Jones’ long criminal background, which included two previous convictions for unlawful handgun possession and many drug trafficking charges. She also stated that Jones was on probation at the time the shooting occurred.
Defense attorney Augustine C. Okeke pleaded for leniency, claiming that his client has “suffered enough” since his detention on May 29, 2024.
According to criminal documents, authorities responded to the 3400 block of Pulaski Highway on April 29, 2024, after receiving allegations of an audible alarm inside a Popeyes restaurant. Employees informed police that a man had fled into the rear room and refused to exit.
When cops asked him to leave, he said he had run from a nearby incident, saying “a guy with an AK-47 started shooting three times” at him near the 200 block of N. Highland Avenue.
Officers quickly uncovered evidence of gunshots nearby, including a shell casing, a damaged storefront window, and a vehicle with a bullet hole below the passenger-side mirror.
Surveillance film recorded two male suspects firing at multiple people, one dressed in a white T-shirt, blue hat, and white-and-blue sneakers and armed with a rifle, and the other in khaki pants and a black shirt, holding a handgun.
Jones was eventually caught, armed with a rifle-style firearm. During a taped interrogation, Jones stated that he and another man went to Highland Avenue to confront someone, armed with the same gun with which he was captured. Although Jones claimed he never fired the weapon, security video proved otherwise.
Jones was initially charged with 25 counts, including three counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder, as well as many firearm and assault violations.
The other counts were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
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