A 27-year-old Baltimore man accused of gunning down Cameron Paige outside a downtown business last November turned down a revised plea offer Thursday and will instead face a jury, with selection set to begin Friday morning. Jaden Kahlil Shanks rejected a deal that would have required him to serve 20 active years in prison out of a total 60-year sentence, choosing instead to roll the dice at trial on charges that include attempted second-degree murder and multiple firearm offenses.
The decision came during a Thursday hearing in Baltimore City Circuit Court before Judge Charles H. Dorsey III, according to Baltimore Witness. Prosecutors had offered Shanks, who is represented by attorney John Deros, a package deal totaling 40 years for second-degree murder with all but 10 years suspended, five years without parole for using a firearm in a crime of violence, a suspended 20 years for first-degree assault, and another five years without parole for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Stacked together, the offer called for 60 years with all but 20 suspended, the first 10 to be served without the possibility of parole followed by five years of supervised probation. A prosecutor warned the offer would be pulled off the table after Thursday's proceedings, but Shanks chose to proceed to trial anyway, with jury selection expected to begin Friday.
An Encounter at a Business Turned Deadly
According to court documents, the shooting grew out of an encounter inside a business on the 400 block of West Saratoga Street, where Shanks, Paige, a second victim, and an unidentified woman crossed paths shortly before the violence erupted. Court documents describe a fight shortly before 8:40 p.m. on November 21, 2025, and say Shanks was knocked to the ground before pulling out a handgun and shooting Paige multiple times. Baltimore police recovered security camera footage from nearby businesses showing the confrontation, and documents describe the gunman as wearing black-and-yellow shoes, a black coat, a mask or hat, and carrying a book bag. Witnesses identified Shanks as the alleged shooter.
Cameron Paige, 23, was pronounced dead at 9:35 p.m. at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. A second victim, an 18-year-old woman, was shot in the leg and treated at the same hospital. Officers recovered seven 9mm cartridge casings at the scene.
Downtown Buses Rerouted as Investigation Began
The shooting immediately rippled beyond the crime scene itself. As Hoodline reported the night it happened, the Maryland Transit Administration issued a service alert and detoured downtown bus lines between Paca and Eutaw Streets until midnight as police closed off blocks of Saratoga Street to recover evidence. Less than seven hours later, a second downtown shooting broke out on West Lombard Street, leading to the arrest of 28-year-old Sami Haroon on attempted first-degree murder charges, according to the Baltimore Witness report cited above. Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland later solicited anonymous tips on Paige's killing, offering rewards of up to $8,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges.
What Shanks Is Facing at Trial
By walking away from the plea, Shanks now faces the full weight of Maryland's sentencing statutes rather than the negotiated 20-year term. The plea offer included a 40-year term for second-degree murder. Separately, Maryland Criminal Law Code § 4-204 imposes a mandatory minimum of five years without parole for using a firearm during a crime of violence, a sentence that must run consecutively. The proposed plea also included five years without parole for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Together, those mandatory minimums sharply limit how much discretion the judge would have in sentencing if a jury convicts.
One Case Inside a Larger Crime Picture
Paige's killing landed during a documented spike in Baltimore violence last fall. The city recorded a 25 percent jump in homicides in November 2025 compared with the month before, rising from 12 deaths in October to 15 in November amid a cluster of multi-victim shootings in the run-up to Thanksgiving. Nonfatal shootings actually dipped slightly over that same stretch even as homicides climbed.
That spike sits inside a much longer run of declining violence in Baltimore. The city closed out 2025 with 133 homicides, its lowest annual total since 1977, representing a 31.4 percent drop from 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. A June 2026 working paper by University of Pennsylvania researchers, published through the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy contributed to a 60 percent decline in city homicides between 2022 and 2025, relying on focused deterrence paired with social services for high-risk individuals.
None of that broader trend changes what a Baltimore jury will be asked to decide after jury selection begins Friday: whether Shanks is guilty of attempted second-degree murder, carrying a handgun, and the related firearm charges stemming from the night Cameron Paige died on West Saratoga Street.
