Teen Squeegee Worker Sentenced For Fatally Shooting Man Holding Bat

BALTIMORE, MD — A former squeegee worker convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the July 2022 death of Timothy Reynolds will serve 15 years in prison, a judge decided Monday, according to multiple reports.

Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer suspended an additional 20-year prison sentence and ordered the 16-year-old boy to be placed under five years of supervised probation upon his release, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Prior to announcing the punishment, Schiffer denied a request from the teen's lawyers to sentence him to the custody of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, according to the Sun. She instead recommended the teen undergo a youth treatment program in a maximum-security prison when he turns 18. Until then, he will remain at the Youth Detention Center in Baltimore.

Patch is not naming the teen because he is a minor. He was 14 years old at the time of the shooting.

Reynolds, who lived in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood, died on July 7, 2022, during a confrontation near the intersection of Light and East Conway Street, police said. According to prosecutors, Reynolds argued with the teen and multiple other squeegee workers at the intersection before the shooting.

Video evidence showed Reynolds walking away from the group with a baseball bat in his hand, prosecutors said, but three group members followed Reynolds and surrounded him.

An argument followed, and one of the workers appeared to throw an object at Reynolds, striking him in the head, prosecutors said. Reynolds swung the bat once after the object hit him.

Video then showed Reynolds stumble and appear disoriented before the teen shot him five times. The teen then fled south on South Charles Street, prosecutors said.

Reynolds was taken to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, where he died.

The high-profile tragedy reignited a longstanding debate about Baltimore's squeegee workers, mostly Black youths from disadvantaged backgrounds looking to make fast cash. City leaders have since banned the practice at certain high-traffic intersections and stepped up efforts to connect squeegee workers with above-board job opportunities.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Schiffer said she chose the teen's punishment because it both protected public safety and provided him with an opportunity for rehabilitation, the Baltimore Banner reported.

“There are no winners here,” Schiffer said, according to the Banner.

She continued, “This court has no intention of discarding the defendant as irredeemable. In fact, the opposite is true.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.