Eighty years.

After Howard County Circuit Court Judge Louis Becker handed down a 25-year sentence Thursday for a shooting assault and armed robbery committed during a 10-day spree of violence in 2006, a Columbia teenager’s already significant prison term grew even longer.

In 2008, Monti Mantrice Fleming was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the shooting death of 18-year-old Shawn Edward Powell, which also took place in the 10-day period.

When Fleming committed the crimes, he was just 15 years old. With this latest sentence, he will be 55 before he is eligible for parole.

At the July 29 hearing, Fleming, now 19, expressed regret at the violence that marked his youth.

“My sorrow and the heavy heart that I have burdened myself with” is difficult to bear, Fleming told the court. “Every day I wake up with pain and frustration because I realize that I have ruined my childhood.”

Fleming began his “trilogy of criminal offenses,” as Becker dubbed the 10-day spree in court, just weeks before he would have begun his junior year in high school.

On the evening of Aug. 22, 2006, Fleming angrily accused a Wilde Lake resident of snitching to police about neighborhood drug dealers, prosecutors said in an earlier hearing. After a heated confrontation, Fleming fired five shots at the resident, striking him in the leg.

Four days later, on August 26, Fleming shot and killed Powell following an argument at a crowded party in Hickory Ridge. A jury found Fleming guilty of the murder in February 2008.

Fleming’s spree ended on August 29 when he robbed two travelers at the Red Roof Inn on Route 1. 

In the early morning hours, Fleming and two other assailants burst into a hotel room and demanded money. In the course of the robbery, Fleming held a gun to one victim’s head and pistol whipped another, prosecutors said.

The three stole $620. Later that day, Fleming was arrested by police.

At the sentencing hearing, Fleming’s defense lawyer, Joseph Murtha, argued that his client lacked maturity at the time of the incidents. Murtha said Fleming had immersed himself in a violent crowd and had become addicted to drugs.

Murtha also argued that Fleming had a difficult family history that included abuse and homelessness.

Fleming’s mother, Katrina Smith, said she faulted herself for not being a better parent to her son.

“Some of that burden he’s carrying, I carry too because it was my responsibility to raise him,” she said to the court. “I failed him
as a mother.”

Fleming has earned a GED and undergone counseling since his incarceration, Murtha told Becker.

Noting the violent and repetitive nature of Fleming’s actions, Howard County Assistant State’s Attorney James Dietrich requested that Fleming serve a 40-year term consecutive to his current sentence.

But Murtha pleaded with Becker to consider a sentence that ran concurrent with Fleming’s current term.

“I hate to see a 15-year-old, in a 10-day span, (ruin his life),” Murtha said. “A 40-year consecutive sentence will only warehouse him and diminish the possibility of him ever seeing the light of day.” 

When Becker handed down his 25-year sentence, to be served after the 55-year prison term, he encouraged Fleming to continue to better himself.

“I do see here some growth, some development, some maturity,” he said. “It gives me hope.”

Becker said he would consider lessening his sentence if Fleming showed long-lasting improvement. He promised to recommend Fleming for admission to the Patuxent Institution’s Youthful Offender Program, which provides counseling and education for teenage criminal offenders.

“Change starts from the heart,” Fleming said to the court. “Becoming what society would never expect would be beautiful.”

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user comments (7)

user please says...

Put that GED to good use, jerk.

Posted 9:31 PM, 07.29.10 | Permalink

user needavacation says...

Good for him. It's good to see improvement in his behavior and education. It'll be beneficial down the road in say, idk....80 years.

Posted 12:42 AM, 07.30.10 | Permalink

user k54paddy says...

“My sorrow and the heavy heart that I have burdened myself with” is difficult to bear, Fleming told the court. “Every day I wake up with pain and frustration because I realize that I have ruined my childhood.” What's wrong with this kid? Doesn't he realize it's not about him? It's about the person he murdered, the people he robbed, the person whose head he held a gun to. Do we really care about HIM? Save us from such regret.

Posted 10:33 AM, 08.01.10 | Permalink

user lawnguy says...

This kid will never get it. It's not about him. He is obviously oblivious to that. And his attorney's statement “I hate to see a 15-year-old, in a 10-day span, (ruin his life),” Murtha said. “A 40-year consecutive sentence will only warehouse him and diminish the possibility of him ever seeing the light of day.” Ahhhhh....yeah! That's the point. He committed several horrible, life ending and altering crimes. The community is and will be a better place without him in it. I, for one, hope he never makes it out of prison alive.

Posted 2:33 PM, 08.02.10 | Permalink

user section8hater says...

Enjoy your time Monti... you piece of crap.

Posted 2:46 PM, 08.03.10 | Permalink

user goterps74 says...

Rot in jail Monti! Hope Big Eddie has a field day with you

Posted 3:36 PM, 08.03.10 | Permalink

user section8hater says...

Big-Greasy-Tyrone gonna make love to yo mouf. Take what you're given and like it you worthless sack of dog poop.

Posted 5:08 PM, 08.04.10 | Permalink