Baltimore man gets 54 months for gunfire in East Baltimore shootout

A federal judge sentenced James Beverly Jr. to 54 months in prison after an East Baltimore shootout that left prosecutors arguing he turned a street corner into a gun battle. The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox, also includes three years of supervised release.

Beverly, 40, was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person after the February 2024 confrontation, when a dark-colored SUV pulled alongside him and a passenger fired about 10 rounds. Court records say Beverly was standing on an East Baltimore corner with fentanyl and cocaine base packaged for distribution and a loaded semi-automatic pistol when the shooting began.

Prosecutors said Beverly fell to the ground, then fired back 11 times at the SUV as it drove away. Surveillance footage captured the exchange, including the moments when Beverly fired after the immediate threat had passed. He then threw the gun into a nearby deli before Baltimore police officers arrived, arrested him, and recovered narcotics, cash and the firearm.

The federal case mattered because Beverly was legally barred from possessing a gun. Prosecutors said his prior convictions included first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, making the street-corner gunfight a serious breach of the prohibition that governs some of the city’s most dangerous offenders.

The case also shows how Baltimore’s anti-violence strategy reaches into the federal system when local shootings involve repeat gun offenders, drugs and retaliatory fire. U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, ATF Special Agent in Charge Charles Doerrer and Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley announced the sentence as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Justice Department initiative launched in 2001 to bring together federal, state, local, tribal and community partners against violent crime and gun violence.

For Baltimore, the larger question is not only how many months Beverly will serve, but whether federal prosecutions like this help break the cycle of retaliation in places like East Baltimore before the next SUV circles back. The city publishes Part 1 crime data on shootings and other major offenses, a reminder that public safety is measured not just by arrests and sentencings, but by whether neighborhoods see fewer gunfire calls, fewer victims and fewer rounds fired at the end of the day.