State v. Anthony Edward Small, C-08-CR-21-000290
LA PLATA, MD— Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, February 16, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Anthony Edward Small, 24, to Life in prison with all but 50 years suspended for First-Degree Murder and the Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence.
On December 11, 2023, Small entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges.
On November 3, 2020, officers responded to an apartment building located in Amberleaf Place for the report of a subject being shot. Upon arrival, officers located a seventeen-year-old victim suffering from several gunshot wounds to his lower body. The victim was transported by helicopter to Washington Hospital Center, but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries.
Witnesses at the scene of the incident reported seeing an altercation between the victim and suspects in a bright blue passenger car, ultimately resulting in gunshots. The suspect who shot the victim was observed entering the front passenger seat of the car before fleeing the area. After the incident, Small’s co-defendant, Tyliek Anthony Spence, spoke to investigators and reported that he was the driver of the fleeing car. Spence told investigators that he arranged to purchase marijuana from the victim prior to the shooting. Soon after Spence and Small arrived, there was an attempted robbery of the victim, followed by the victim getting shot. Spence also described the clothing that the shooter wore during the incident.
During the course of the investigation, investigators were able to recover a fingerprint on the passenger side of Spence’s car, which was found to be left by Small. Additionally, Small’s phone records placed him in the area during the time of the incident. He was also seen in photographs wearing clothing that matched Spence’s description.
An examination of Small’s phone was conducted. Photographs were observed of Small and the victim’s handgun covered with blood. In a text exchange, Small confesses to his girlfriend about the murder.
Before sentencing Small, Judge West stated that the victim “was just a child. He never really had a chance to better himself for the long run. We’ll never get to see the victim mature.” He furthered that the incident was “the most loss that you could inflict upon [the victim’s mother] for really no reason at all” and that it was a “tremendous amount of harm to bring to someone’s family for no real reason.”
On September 15, 2022, co-defendant Spence entered a guilty plea to First-Degree Felony Murder. His sentencing date has been set for March 7, 2024.
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