A 21-year-old man is expected to serve 30 years in prison for his involvement in a shooting in a Rockville neighborhood in March 2023, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Callen Baker of Jefferson, Maryland, was sentenced Friday to 400 years in prison with all but 30 years suspended plus five years of supervised probation upon release by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Marielsa Bernard, who also recommended Baker be admitted to the Patuxent Youthful Offenders Program while incarcerated, the state’s attorney’s office said Friday in a statement.
In May, a Circuit Court jury convicted Baker of 18 counts of first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, use of a firearm in commission of a crime of violence and reckless endangerment. Baker’s co-conspirator, Zachary Ciccantelli, 24, of Rockville was convicted of the same charges. Ciccantelli faces sentencing Sept. 13.
According to authorities, Baker and Ciccantelli arrived at the Fireside Park apartment complex in the 700 block of Monroe Street around 3:45 p.m. on March 1, 2023, and Ciccantelli opened fire on a group of people recording a music video. Baker provided Ciccantelli with the handgun and drove the getaway vehicle. Several of the males involved in the music video fired back and multiple bullets struck occupied apartment buildings in the neighborhood.
During an investigation, county police recovered more than 20 shell casings and one privately manufactured firearm from the scene.
Video collected by police from a nearby doorbell camera and a Montgomery County Public Schools bus captured the altercation as one person fled the shooting and Baker and Ciccantelli escaped in a getaway car, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
“If you’re willing to engage in this type of activity you belong in jail, and for a long time. There was zero regard for the innocent lives in close proximity to the reckless gunfire. We thank the judge for this sentence, which should send a clear message that this terrifying behavior will not be tolerated,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in the statement.