Man receives 2 life sentences for mass shooting that killed Baltimore boxer, injured 5 others
A man received two life sentences plus another 120 years in prison Tuesday for a 2023 mass shooting that left a man dead, including a Baltimore boxer, and five others wounded, State's Attorney Ivan Bates said.
Jabre Griffith was found guilty in November 2024 of first-degree murder, six counts of attempted murder, and firearms charges in the shooting.
Officers responded to the 2800 block of Edmondson Avenue on March 23, 2023, to investigate at least one ShotSpotter alert a few minutes after midnight.
When they arrived, they found six people shot.
Ernest Hall, a 33-year-old junior featherweight boxer, died in the shooting.
After Hall's death, his former coach Jake Smith, owner of Baltimore Boxing and Fitness, organized a boxing match for the slain athlete.
The other victims, a 15-year-old boy, a 24-year-old man, a 21-year-old man, an 18-year-old man, a 22-year-old man, and another man survived with injuries.
State's Attorney details evidence
Former Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said a vehicle stopped at the location and multiple people exited the vehicle before firing gunshots indiscriminately into a crowd of people.
Afterward, the shooters allegedly got back into their vehicle and fled the scene.
The State's Attorney's office said Surveillance footage showed three individuals exiting a vehicle at a gas station before opening fire, while the driver waited. The suspects then fled to North Franklintown Road, where they switched to a white 2012 Infiniti G37 registered to Jabre Griffith.
Police tracked the Infiniti to Richie's Lounge, where security cameras captured Kamal Brown, wearing a distinctive green and black puffy coat, entering briefly before departing, according to the State's Attorney's office. The vehicle was later tracked to Brown's residence, then a Royal Farms, before ending up at Griffith's house.
Later that night, around 11:20 p.m., another shooting occurred on York Road, where Micah Strong was fatally wounded. Ballistic evidence linked both shootings to the same .40 caliber handgun. Investigators also found Griffith's DNA on latex gloves recovered where the suspects switched vehicles.
"I do not take a sentence of this length lightly when it is imposed on a defendant, but when someone so clearly has no regard for the lives of others, it is without question that they are a threat to the safety of our entire city," State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates said. "It is a miracle more people weren't killed during Mr. Griffith's rampage of violence and destruction, and, tragically, one of the victims was a juvenile who will forever be changed by this experience."
Griffith was sentenced to two life sentences plus 120 years, while his co-defendant, Kamal Brown, is scheduled for trial on March 6.
Gun violence in Baltimore
Since the time of the shooting, Baltimore City officials have reported a reduction in gun violence. According to a report by the Baltimore Police Department, homicides went down 23% in 2024, with a total of 201 compared to 261 homicides in 2023.
As of Feb. 3, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott said homicides in the city were down 17.6%, and nonfatal shootings are down 10.7% compared to the same time in 2024.
Scott said that while more work remains to reduce gun violence, the city's progress is significant. Attributing some of the progress to the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy, Scott says the city is using community violence intervention and proactive policing to reduce crime.
