In a move aimed at demonstrating the commitment to justice and a safer community, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates released a record of sentences recently handed down for serious crimes, the office's website announced. Among those, Davonte Hamlett received a life sentence plus 45 years for actions in a fatal and attempted murder outside a local gas station in May 2024, while Aurielle Montgomery was sentenced to 40 years, with all but 22 years suspended, after the death of her toddler due to blunt force trauma in 2022.
Everett Schwartz and Daquan Woodard also faced significant incarceration times for their violent crimes, Schwartz receiving 39 years for a fatal shooting. Woodard received two life sentences plus 20 years for a double homicide, as "Our office remains steadfast in its mission to hold violent offenders accountable and deliver justice for victims and their families," said State’s Attorney Bates, highlighted by the Office of the State's Attorney press release. The prosecution of these cases was handled by ASA Elizabeth Stock, Special Victims Unit Chief Jesse Halvorsen, with assistance from ASA Keera Gilbert, ASA Alyssa Ragland, and ASA Amy Brown, respectively.
Baltimore has been grappling with gun violence and homicides. The SAO's aggressive push for convictions in these acts of brutality indicates a stern approach to criminality, and these latest sentences underscore the city's zero-tolerance stance. The State’s Attorney's Office reported an accumulation of 32 guilty outcomes for violent offenders in 2025 alone.
