A fight outside a Baltimore grocery store was reported about 30 minutes before a shooting. The man accused of pulling the trigger has now turned down a plea deal that could have put him behind bars for as little as 15 years. Jerson Guardado, 21, also known as Padilla, is instead headed to trial after his attorney rejected prosecutors' offer on his behalf.
A Fight That Turned Violent on Leverton Avenue
The case traces back to July 14, when Guardado and another man passed a witness and several friends in the 3400 block of Leverton Avenue, according to Baltimore Witness. The store's owner later told police that two unidentified men had fought in front of the business that day. An observer reported, per court documents cited by the outlet, seeing one of the men pull out a black handgun and fire toward the group before running down a nearby alley.
A Baltimore Police Department officer searched that alley, the report states, and soon encountered Guardado, who had cuts on the front and back of his head and appeared intoxicated, according to the responding officer. Grocery store surveillance footage reportedly identified Guardado as one of the men involved in the fight, and the victim identified him as the person who fired toward him during a police interview.
A Satchel, a Struggle, and an Unanswered Question
Police say Guardado and his friend struggled over a satchel that officers believed likely contained a handgun. The victim initially refused to relinquish the satchel, per the article's account of the police narrative. After his arrest, Guardado claimed he had handed the satchel containing the gun to his friend because he was intoxicated — but police say he ultimately got the satchel with the firearm back, and could not account for what happened to it after that.
Prosecutors' Offer and the Defense's Rejection
Prosecutors put together an aggregate plea offer of 45 years, suspending all but 15, with the first 10 years to be served without the possibility of parole. The terms included 25 years on a first-degree assault indictment, suspending all but 10, plus two years of probation, along with two firearm-use counts each carrying 10 years to run consecutively. In exchange, prosecutors offered to drop other weapons-related counts and include a stay-away order protecting the victim.
Reginald Jordan, serving as stand-in defense attorney, rejected the offer on Guardado's behalf, the outlet reports. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland has since set Guardado's trial for February 8, 2027.
A Broader Pattern of Rejected Deals
Guardado's decision to fight the charges rather than accept a plea isn't unique in Baltimore's courts right now. Baltimore Witness has reported tracking two homicide cases resolved by plea at Baltimore City Circuit Court in 2025, compared with 18 the year before. In a separate case tracked by the same outlet, Jamari Marquese Hammond turned down a 15-year offer that would have suspended all but seven years, with the first five without parole, and proceeded instead to a jury trial.
Not every defendant takes that route. Maurice Prioleau Jr. was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2025, to life, with all but 30 years suspended, for his role in the death of DeAngelo West, according to Baltimore Witness. The contrast underscores how much variation exists in how similar violent cases ultimately resolve.
With Guardado's trial about 98 days away, the case is likely governed by the Hicks speedy trial deadline, which runs 180 days from a defendant's or attorney's first court appearance. How that timeline squares with the February 2027 date, and what the trial itself will reveal, remains to be seen.
