A street in Baltimore, Maryland stands shrouded in both controversy and tragedy after a violent confrontation unfolded. This segment on North Arlington Avenue, captured through Google Maps, paints a haunting backdrop. Inset images reveal those involved: Timothy Shearn, as seen through the lens of the Baltimore Police Department, and Deonaye Johnson, remembered by Wylie Funeral Home.
A Maryland woman embroiled in a turbulent dispute over child visitation sought assistance during a heated argument with the father of one of her children. In a tragic turn, she called another man, a father of her child, who met his death by a gunshot to the back of his head.
The chilling narrative reached a courtroom resolution when Timothy Shearn, 27, was sentenced for the first-degree murder of 26-year-old Deonaye Johnson. In an announcement on Tuesday, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City outlined the conviction, which included additional charges of first-degree assault, use of a handgun in a crime of violence, and illegal possession of a firearm.
Authorities recounted the events of September 9, 2025, when a distressed woman flagged down Baltimore police officers, revealing that Shearn, her child’s father, brandished a firearm and issued threats. Her lead brought officers to the 1000 block of North Arlington Avenue, purported scene of the conflict, yet no suspect was found.
The investigation took a perplexing turn as law enforcement followed her clues to a secondary location, only to meet with emptiness once again. Officers, losing her trail, resorted to phone inquiries to reestablish contact and direction in their fruitless search, as noted by the state’s attorney’s office.
“The woman could be heard yelling on the phone to put the gun away,” the agency went on. Officers then heard shots, and their technology told them where the shooting was — back on North Arlington Avenue.
Police rushed back to the street and saw Johnson “on the ground, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the back of the head.” The woman told officers that after she was initially threatened, she had called Johnson, “who she also has a child with,” and he showed up to try to defuse the situation.
“The woman advised that she again saw” Shearn with a gun, and he opened fire, the statement said. Johnson was struck three times, and though emergency personnel rushed him to an area hospital, he was pronounced dead.
The woman told officers she believed Shearn had run back into one of the houses on that block.
Several hours passed with Shearn not surrendering, but police did find “an empty Smith & Wesson gun box” in a house on that block, as well as six 9 mm cartridge cases “near where the victim was shot,” and “all were determined to have been fired with the same” gun.
About a month later, Shearn was arrested on the 1800 block of West Franklin Street in Baltimore, just a mile away from where the shooting took place.
“Ultimately, if you choose to settle a personal dispute with a gun in our city, you will be held to account,” State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates said in a statement. “Mr. Shearn made the deliberate decision to take Deonaye Johnson’s life, leaving a family to grieve a loss that can never be undone.”
“Today’s conviction cannot restore what was stolen, but it delivers justice and ensures the man responsible faces the consequences of his actions,” he added.
Shearn faces life in prison plus 65 years at his sentencing hearing on Oct. 16.
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