Woodlawn Roadway Shooting Considered First Degree Assault
A review of the Baltimore Sun’s police blotter report for Saturday, March 7, 2009, reveals that three people were arrested and charged with first-degree assault in Maryland in connection with a roadway-shooting incident that took place during the early morning hours in the Woodlawn area.
According to the blotter record, the three individuals were driving in the Woodlawn area and at approximately 3:30 a.m., one of the individuals allegedly discharged a .32 caliber handgun at the driver of another car. Fortunately the shot missed, and the driver reported the incident to law enforcement officials.
Police stopped the suspect’s vehicle shortly after receiving word of the incident and arrested the occupants of the car, two men and a woman. Police officers also recovered the handgun believed to have been used in the shooting.
The roadway shooting case illustrates one aspect of assault charges that are slightly counter-intuitive: the act of assault does not have to be successful for the charges to be made. A charge of first-degree assault in Maryland can be made for the attempt to cause serious physical injury to another. According to one reading of the Maryland code, using a firearm to commit the assault places the act firmly in first-degree assault territory.
However, assault charges stand or fall in court based on the proof of intent to injure with a firearm in Maryland. From the limited details provided by the police blotter, the charge of first-degree assault may be overreaching on the part of the prosecution. A criminal defense attorney may attempt to reduce the charges to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor offense. In Maryland, reckless endangerment carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, far lower than the 25-year maximum for felony assault.
Violent crime is taken very seriously by the Maryland courts. Meng & Alpert LLC represents the interests of those charged with violent crimes, weapons charges and assault. If you have questions regarding criminal charges including assault or reckless endangerment, or have been charged with a violent crime, please call the skilled Maryland criminal defense attorneys of Meng & Alpert LLC at 866-444-6363 for more information.
