Background: A section of the 1000 block of North Arlington Avenue in Baltimore, Md. (Google Maps). Inset left: Timothy Shearn (Baltimore Police Department). Inset right: Deonaye Johnson (Wylie Funeral Home).
A child visitation dispute in Maryland turned deadly after a woman, allegedly threatened by the father of one of her children, called another father of her children for help — and he was shot in the back of the head.
Timothy Shearn, 27, has been convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of 26-year-old Deonaye Johnson, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City announced on Tuesday. Jurors found Shearn guilty on all charges, including two counts of using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, first-degree assault, and wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun.
Authorities said the case began on Sept. 9, 2025, when a woman “flagged down” Baltimore Police Department officers and reported that Shearn — the father of one of her children — “had just pointed a firearm at her and threatened her.” She led officers to the 1000 block of North Arlington Avenue in Baltimore, where she said the confrontation had occurred.
When police arrived, no one was at the scene, according to the state’s attorney’s office. “The woman then took officers to where she believed the Defendant may have gone, but no one was at that location either,” prosecutors said. At some point, officers “lost” contact with her and “called her to find out” where she had gone.
During that call, “The woman could be heard yelling on the phone to put the gun away,” the agency said. Moments later, officers heard gunfire, and police technology indicated the shots had come from North Arlington Avenue.
Officers returned to the block and found Johnson on the ground with “an apparent gunshot wound to the back of the head.” The woman told police that after Shearn initially threatened her, she contacted Johnson, “who she also has a child with,” and he came to the area in an effort to calm the situation.
Prosecutors said the woman reported seeing Shearn with a gun again before he opened fire. Johnson was shot three times and taken by emergency responders to a local hospital, where 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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