Baltimore Man Gets 30 Years for Federal Hill Shooting That Killed Teen Cameran Holt

Alexis Cancel-Soto was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with all but 30 years suspended for the murder of 19-year-old Cameran Holt, who was shot in the crossfire of a Federal Hill shootout on West Hamburg Street while celebrating a family member's gender reveal.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Nicole K. Barmore handed down the sentence at the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, calling the October 27, 2024 incident "heart wrenching" before delivering the judgment. "His friend lost her life because of his actions, and the court has to take that into consideration," Barmore said. "It's just the most tragic thing. Nothing that this court does is going to change what happened on Oct. 27, 2024."

Cancel-Soto, 21, had been convicted by a jury in mid-September 2025 on eight counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, reckless endangerment, and four gun violations. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Under the sentence imposed by Barmore, Cancel-Soto will serve 30 years, followed by five years of supervised probation, and will be required to register as a gun offender upon release. At the request of his defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Marci Tarrant Johnson, the judge agreed to run all sentences concurrently.

Prosecutors had pushed for a significantly harsher outcome. State's Attorney Ivan Bates called for a sentence of life plus 30 years, and Assistant State's Attorney Justin Greer made the same request at sentencing. "It is horribly unfortunate what happened," Greer said. "A young, innocent woman lost her life." The State's Attorney's Office issued a statement acknowledging the gap between the sentence imposed and the one sought: "Today's sentencing represents a significant step toward accountability; however, it is not the outcome we sought for Cameran Holt and her loved ones."

Holt, the second of five children from Anne Arundel County, had earned her Registered Behavior Technician certification two weeks before she was shot. She had planned to work with children with developmental disabilities. Her mother, referred to in court as Spath, spent days and nights with her daughter at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where Holt died more than a week after the shooting. "I am stuck in an endless cycle of grief," she told the court Wednesday. Holt's aunt, Amanda Fields, added: "There's a hole in our hearts, and our family."

According to charging documents, Devontaye Richardson was arguing with an unidentified man in a parking lot when both men got into their cars. Richardson and Cancel-Soto then fired at the man's vehicle, and a third man, Daeshaun Clark, also discharged his weapon. Holt was struck in the crossfire. A 28-year-old man was also injured. Richardson and Clark were arrested November 21, 2024; Cancel-Soto was taken into custody four days later on November 25.

Clark was found guilty on March 6 on charges including attempted voluntary manslaughter, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, carrying a loaded handgun, and reckless endangerment. His sentencing is scheduled for May 12. The status of charges against Richardson was not immediately available.

Johnson argued in mitigation that Cancel-Soto had endured a traumatic childhood, moving from Puerto Rico to live with his grandparents in the United States after his mother was arrested there and sentenced to eight years in prison. She noted that Cancel-Soto is the father of a three-year-old daughter and requested that Judge Barmore recommend him for the Patuxent Youth Program, which provides psychiatric, social, and rehabilitative services to eligible incarcerated individuals. "I do believe this young man is redeemable," Johnson told the court.