Sharniel Baker Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For 5th Cocaine Distribution Conviction

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- A Baltimore man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday on a count of conspiring to distribute cocaine, his fifth felony conviction for cocaine distribution or possession with intent to distribute since 1999, the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office said.

Judge Michael Wachs handed down the maximum sentence to 42-year-old Sharniel Baker. Baker had previous cocaine distribution felony convictions in 1999, 2004, 2010 and 2020, officials said.

"The State believed that the maximum sentence of 20 years was appropriate due to the defendant's sustained history of distributing cocaine and possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it," Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a news release. "Previous, shorter jail sentences, supervised probation, drug treatment and being on parole did nothing to alter the defendant's behavior. On multiple occasions, the defendant was arrested for a new offense, while he had one or more outstanding warrants for his arrest for other offenses."

Police arrested Baker at an Extended Stay America hotel in Glen Burnie in July 2019 after being called to the hotel for an elderly woman with health problems needing help. Baker had two open warrants at the time.

Officers searched a room and found cocaine and paraphernalia along with Baker's driver's license, credit cards and documents in his name, the state's attorney's office said.

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