Richard Barksdale, Gun Charge, Maryland 2015

A Baltimore man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Richard Barksdale, 45, was convicted by a federal jury on August 25, 2015, and has been detained since his arrest on September 11, 2014.

According to evidence presented during the two-day trial, security officers from Johns Hopkins Hospital saw a man firing a gun at other men on the 800 block of N. Washington Street near the hospital. The shooter was described as wearing a blue or gray sweatshirt and gray shorts, and was heading west on foot on E. Madison Street.

Johns Hopkins personnel provided Baltimore Police with a street-by-street description of the suspected shooter’s movements as they followed Barksdale in a vehicle to the 900 block of N. Bond Street. Baltimore Police officers encountered Barksdale on Bond Street. He was wearing a blue or gray sweatshirt and gray shorts.

The officers identified themselves as police, patted Barksdale down, found a loaded handgun in his waistband and arrested him. Baltimore Police recovered expelled ammunition shell casings from the scene of the shooting on N. Washington Street. Further investigation revealed that the shells were expelled from Barksdale’s handgun. A bullet projectile also found on the street was determined to have been fired from the same handgun taken from Barksdale.

Barksdale had previously been convicted of a felony and was thus prohibited from possessing a gun and ammunition. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Barksdale to eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked Johns Hopkins Hospital security personnel for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Michael C. Hanlon and Patricia C. McLane, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore Man Exiled to 8 Years in Prison on Gun Charge

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