SALISBURY, Md. - A Salisbury man involved in a 2023 Independence Day shooting that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old and injured multiple others has been sentenced to over 250 years in prison.
On July 4, 2023, prosecutors say Antravon Harmon, 28, was at a neighborhood block party on Chippewa Blvd. near Kiowa Ave. Just after midnight on July 5, Harmon and another suspect armed themselves with handguns and confronted 14-year-old Xavier Maddox. Harmon and the other suspect then opened fire into the crowd, sparking a gunfight between numerous people.
Maddox was killed in the ensuing gunfire and seven others were injured.
The shooting would later be linked to the killing of 16-year-old Ja’siah Johnson earlier in 2023 in an ongoing gang-related conflict. Several others have already been prosecuted and sentenced for their involvement in the incidents.
Over a year after Maddox’s killing, Harmon was convicted of eight counts of first-degree assault, eight counts of firearm use in a crime of violence, and various other charges after a five-day jury trial in Wicomico County Circuit Court. State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes said Harmon faced up to 400 years behind bars.
On Thursday, Oct. 16, Harmon was sentenced to a total term of 258 years in jail, with 45 of those without the possibility of parole.
“This violence in our community causes endless pain and suffering and must stop,” State’s Attorney Dykes said. “For the sake of the victims in this case and all the law abiding citizens of Wicomico County, I hope the Court’s sentence today will serve as notice to those who would inflict this harm on others that there is a price to pay for such action.”
