5-23-2024 9:10am

LOCAL SHOOTER

Cockeysville Man Gets Five Years for Non-Fatal Shooting on Reisterstown Road

A 31-year-old Cockeysville man accused of firing multiple gunshots at an unidentified victim in West Baltimore last year will serve five years in prison after pleading guilty on May 14.

John Eades pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and firearm use in a felony or violent crime before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Troy K. Hill. The defendant’s remaining charges were dismissed, including second-degree assault, firearm possession with a felony conviction, having a loaded handgun on his person, firing a gun in Baltimore City, and illegal possession of ammunition as well as two counts of reckless endangerment.

For first-degree assault, Eades was sentenced to 25 years, suspending all but five years. He was sentenced to a concurrent five years for firearm use in a felony or violent crime in addition to three years of supervised probation.

Eades, who was represented by defense attorney Donald Wright, must also register as a gun offender.

According to charging documents, Baltimore Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert on Oct. 16, 2023, and found the victim on the 2500 block of Reisterstown Road. The victim told police that the shooter was wearing an orange bandana and fired multiple shots at him, hitting the victim’s car.

The victim was uninjured, court documents state. He also told police that the shooter had also threatened him with a handgun one month prior.

During their investigation, police reviewed city surveillance footage showing the suspect—later identified as Eades—getting out of a minivan, going to the trunk and covering the lower half of his face with an orange bandana before the shooting occurred. Police later arrested Eades on the 2800 block of Mosher Street.