Baltimore man gets life sentence in Johnson Square apartment killing

Tyrone Epps was sentenced to life in prison with all but 50 years suspended for the fatal shooting of Paul Lee Jr. in the lobby of the Johnston Square Apartments at 501 E. Preston Street. For Lee’s family and for residents of the senior and disability-accessible complex, the ruling closed a case that had lingered since the 2024 killing.

Epps, 64, had pleaded guilty March 20 to first-degree murder and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Prosecutors said the plea carried a life sentence with no less than 30 years and no more than 50 years suspended. The sentence handed down June 8 followed that agreement and ensures Epps will spend most of the rest of his life behind bars for what Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates described as an execution-style murder.

Police responded around 8:50 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2024, after a report of gunfire in the lobby. Investigators later said surveillance video showed Epps approach Lee, try to engage him in an argument, pull a gun and fire three times, striking Lee twice as Lee attempted to retreat and hide behind another person. Lee, 33, was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital and later pronounced dead.

Prosecutors said the case was built on surveillance video, witness testimony and a jail call. Epps also told investigators that Lee had harassed him after he moved into the building, and that he got his gun and followed Lee into the lobby before the shooting. The details underscored how quickly a dispute in a shared housing space can turn deadly, especially in a building where many residents are older or disabled and depend on a sense of security inside their own home.

Lee’s mother, Rhonda Miller, reacted emotionally when the facts were read in court and had previously mourned her son as someone who hoped to return to school after leaving custody. Her family also raised questions about whether an unserved warrant for Epps might have prevented the killing, turning the case into part of a broader Baltimore conversation about how violent offenders move through the system.

The sentencing lands against a backdrop of stubbornly high homicide losses in Baltimore, even as the city finished 2025 with 133 homicides, down from 194 in 2024. For Johnston Square residents, the ruling cannot reverse the loss inside 501 E. Preston Street, but it does bring a formal end to one of the apartment complex’s most devastating episodes.