UPDATE: Jaekwan Jacob Stephens has been sentenced to life in prison.

Original story below…

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MIDDLE RIVER, MD—A Middle River man has been convicted in connection with a 2020 homicide in Catonsville.

On Friday, a jury in Baltimore County convicted Jaekwan Jacob Stephens, 25, of first-degree murder and weapons charges.

In the early morning hours of August 18, 2020, the police responded to the 200-block of Garden Ridge Road in Catonsville for a report of a shooting. There, the police found Charles Green, 27, on the front lawn suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

An autopsy later revealed that Green had been shot fourteen times in his torso, head and legs. At the scene, the police learned that a white Honda Accord had fled the scene with the individual who had committed the murder.

The car was located in Baltimore City and the three occupants fled from the police. One of the three was caught immediately. Subsequent investigation revealed that Jaekwan Stephens had been involved in a dispute with the victim inside a residence on Garden Ridge Road. When Green stepped outside, Stephens shot him in the back of the head. This caused the victim to fall to the ground. Stephens then repeatedly shot Green as he stood above him.  Stephens was caught nine days later hiding in a closet at his home.

State’s Attorney, Scott Shellenberger, noted the brutality of the killing of Green and offered his thanks to the police “for their excellent efforts to track down the individual who chose to use a gun to settle what seemed to be a minor dispute and then bring him to justice.” “Assistant State’s Attorney, Brian Botts, then went on to complete that effort and further my commitment to protecting the citizens of this County from senseless gun violence. Mr. Green was the father of four young children who will now not have him in their lives.”

The judge indicated that sentencing will take place in approximately thirty days. Stephens faces a possible sentence of life plus twenty-three years.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels