Hagerstown man sentenced related to August 2022 shooting that injured a woman
A Hagerstown man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in state prison for an Aug. 22, 2022, shooting in the city that left a woman with a bullet wound, according to court records.
Washington County Circuit Court Judge Dana Moylan Wright sentenced Christian Terrance Thrower, 24, to 20 years in state prison, with five of those years suspended, for first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, according to court records.
Thrower has credit for about a year and eight months time served, according to his online case information.
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Thrower entered an Alford pea on May 1, 2023, to the first-degree assault of Kaylee Ramirez, who was shot in the arm, and to reckless endangerment, Assistant State's Attorney Beverly Plutnick has said.
An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction.
Other charges, including two counts each of attempted first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, were dropped as part of that plea deal.
Plutnick said at the time that identification of the defendant could have been an issue if Thrower had gone to trial because the shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. when it was dark outside.
Thrower's girlfriend, Lakin Anieche Spoonhour, 23, of Fayetteville, Pa., also had been charged in the case. Her charges, including the attempted murder charges, were dismissed as part of the plea deal with Thrower. Also, Plutnick said in an interview at the time that Spoonhour was the driver and it would have been difficult to prove Spoonhour had knowledge of what Thrower was going to do or that he had a gun.
Plutnick said last year that the state determined Thrower was the responsible party in this case and that he had taken responsibility.
Plutnick said Tuesday that the judge merged Thrower's assault and reckless endangerment convictions for sentencing purposes.
The sentencing guidelines for Thrower were for five to 10 years. Plutnick said she recommended a 20-year sentence with all suspended except for five to 10 years.
Wright chose to go above the sentencing guidelines.
Sentencing guidelines are not mandatory and are an average of similarly rated criminal offenses across Maryland.
Defense attorney Mikhaila Mc Nicolls said she had no comment on the sentencing.
Once released, Thrower would be on supervised probation for five years, according to court records.
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Hagerstown Police, in court records, state the attempted murders of Ramirez and Cameron Little, while on a Clarkson Avenue porch, "appeared to be a planned and executed attack." Police noted the suspects' car circled the area prior to the shooting and dropped off a male in the 600 block of North Prospect Street who was seen approaching the area of the shooting on foot.
Ramirez, who was shot in the arm, told police her boyfriend, Little, was close friends with Kevin Nunn, one of four men charged related to the March 2022 shooting death of Jermaine Reed II in Hagerstown's West End, court records state.
Nunn was sentenced in March to 40 years for his role in the St. Patrick's Day 2022 shooting death of Reed.
Ramirez told police she had heard "people were coming after Little" because he is close to Nunn and that a male named "Christian" was "possibly involved" and is Reed's cousin, court records state.
A month or two before the Clarkson Avenue shooting, Ramirez and Little were at a convenience store where they ended up next to "Christian," court records state. Ramirez told police there was "a lot of tension as Little and Christian were staring each other down."
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Regarding the day of the shooting, Ramirez first told police she heard a fight outside her home and saw a group of five or more males sitting on the stairs outside her home, "arguing over a song," court records state. She told police she heard a man say, "I'll be back with my pistol."
Ramirez told police she didn't really "think anything of it" and went to sit outside with her boyfriend, Little. The group outside had broken up shortly after the male said he was getting his gun. About 15 minutes after the man left, she and Little were sitting on the deck when a vehicle drove southbound in the alley parallel to the east side of North Prospect Street and which oversees her address, court records state.
Ramirez recounted hearing about two gunshots and running inside, where she realized she had been shot in the right arm, court records state. The bullet shattered her humerus bone.
Witnesses told police they saw a vehicle drive down the alley as the shots were heard.
Thrower's reckless endangerment plea was for a count the criminal information filing describes as firing a firearm that created a substantial risk of death and serious injury to Ramirez and Little.
A possible third person in the car remains unknown.
Lt. Rebecca Fetchu, spokesperson for Hagerstown Police, said Wednesday in an email that no one else has been charged in this shooting case.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown man gets 15 years related to 2022 shooting along city road
