A 38-year-old Baltimore man accused of trying to run down two people with his car before someone inside the vehicle opened fire on them has turned down a plea deal that would have capped his prison time at 30 years, setting up a trial that could now expose him to a life sentence. Adrian Jones is charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and several firearm charges stemming from a shooting on the 700 block of South Broadway in November 2025.
According to charging documents cited by Baltimore Witness, police officers responded to the sound of gunshots on the 700 block of South Broadway and found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim suffered a torso gunshot wound and was in critical condition after being transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital, while the other suffered a leg gunshot wound and was listed in stable condition. CCTV footage reviewed by investigators showed the suspect vehicle attempting to run over the two victims, which led to a physical altercation before an unidentified person inside the vehicle opened fire on them.
That second person, according to the report, fled the scene and has not been identified, even as forensic evidence ties Jones to the vehicle itself. A crime lab technician recovered fingerprints from the car's exterior doors and windows as well as from the vehicle's interior, and investigators collected DNA evidence from the steering wheel. A single .40 caliber shell casing was recovered from the driver's seat. Attorney Augustine Okeke represents Jones in the case.
The Rejected Offer
During a pre-trial hearing, the prosecutor offered Jones a plea deal that included life imprisonment with all but 30 years suspended for attempted first-degree murder, plus 25 years to run concurrently for first-degree assault, per the same account. The offer also carried a mandatory five years without parole for firearm use, five years of supervised probation, a requirement that Jones register as a gun offender, and a condition that he stay away from the victims. Jones rejected the agreement.
That mandatory firearm term reflects Maryland Criminal Law Code § 4-204, which mandates a non-suspendable five-year minimum for using a firearm during a crime of violence, served consecutively to any other sentence, according to FrizWoods. The gun offender registration condition traces to Baltimore City Code Article 19, Subtitle 60, which requires people convicted of qualifying firearm offenses in the city to register with the Baltimore Police Commissioner, a local ordinance established in 2007.
What Jones Now Faces at Trial
By rejecting the plea, Jones now faces the full weight of the charges without the 30-year cap. Attempted first-degree murder is classified under Maryland Criminal Law Code § 2-205 as a felony carrying a potential sentence of up to life imprisonment, according to the C. James Terry Law firm. His trial is scheduled to begin October 14 in Baltimore City Circuit Court and is expected to last three days, with Associate Judge Kendra Y. Ausby presiding. Ausby has served on the Eighth Circuit Court for Baltimore City since her February 2010 appointment, after previously working as an Assistant Public Defender and Assistant Attorney General, according to Ballotpedia.
The plea offer was formally presented in Judge Melissa K. Copeland's reception court, the central docket where the Baltimore City Circuit Court's Criminal Division handles plea negotiations and assigns trial dates to associate judges before cases move forward. Copeland serves as the Judge in Charge of the Criminal Division overseeing that process.
A Recurring Scene on South Broadway
The 700 block of South Broadway sits in Fells Point, Baltimore's historic waterfront district known for its dense cluster of bars and restaurants and monitored by municipal CCTV cameras. The corridor has seen other violent gun incidents in recent years, including a June 2025 shooting on the 800 block of South Broadway that also resulted in attempted murder charges, that case against a 19-year-old defendant. Hoodline has previously reported on a Fells Point double shooting trial and a jury's guilty verdict in a stabbing case, both stemming from the same nightlife strip.
The case also arrives amid a broader decline in Baltimore violence. The Baltimore Police Department reported that homicides fell 31% to 133 and non-fatal shootings dropped 24% to 311 in 2025 compared with the prior year. Through early August 2026, city officers had seized more than 1,189 illegal firearms, including 123 ghost guns, and made 743 gun-related arrests, according to the City of Baltimore.
Whether the still-unidentified shooter inside Jones's vehicle will ever face charges remains an open question in the case, as investigators have not said whether that person has been identified since fleeing the scene in November.
