He will be spending two-and-a-half-years behind bars.
Frederick, Md (KM) A Silver Spring man entered a guilty plea Tuesday in connection with a shots-fired incident in Frederick last year. In Circuit Court, Robert Antoine Shirley, 21 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit 1st-degree assault, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and violation of probation.
Judge Julie Stevenson Solt sentenced Shirley to ten-years incarceration, suspending all but 12-months to serve in the local Adult Detention Center for conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. In addition, the judge gave Shirley 18-months consecutive for violation of probation. He also must serve three-years of supervised probation, have no contact with the victims and pay restitution for damages to a vehicle.
On June 20th, 2019, police were called to the 1300 block of Taney Avenue where they heard from witnesses who said a man with a backpack walked up to a group of people in a parking lot and starting shooting with a handgun,. The individuals fled to the rear of the Frederick Shopping Center at 1305 West 7th Street. Shirley was one of four individuals identified on video surveillance and witness statements as with the group which was fired upon, according to a news release from the State’s Attorney’s Office.
After a verbal altercation near the McDonald’s restaurant on West 7th Street between Shirley’s group and several men in a red Cadillac, shots were exchanged, damaging several cars in the parking lot. Witnesses told police that Shirley was in a silver Honda CR-V along with three other men, the State’s Attorney’s Office says.
The Honda was found abandoned a short time later in the area of Glen Rock Drive. Through their investigation, police determined the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier in the day.
Shirley was seen a short distance away, and detectives took him into custody after a foot chase. The keys to the Honda CR-V were found in Shirley’s pockets after he was apprehended.
“This was a dangerous shootout between two groups in a crowded shopping center,”: says State’s Attorney Charlie Smith, in a statement. “We are glad no one was hurt in the incidents.”
By Kevin McManus