BALTIMORE — A Baltimore jury found Michael Yates guilty after a previous jury was unable to come to a consensus earlier in the week.
He was found guilty of the following charges:
- Possession of a regulated firearm after prior conviction
- Possession of ammunition by a prohibited person
Yates faces a maximum of 16 years in prison at sentencing on August 3, 2022.
In this case, the defense defended a motion to dismiss and a motion to suppress, based on the new Supreme Court opinion on the Second Amendment.
On June 23, the Supreme Court ruled that New York's law requiring a good reason before someone can carry a gun outside their home is unconstitutional. The constitution protects a right to carry a gun outside the home.
RELATED: With similar concealed carry laws as New York, could SCOTUS ruling impact Maryland?
As a result, Gov. Hogan directed Maryland State Police to suspend Maryland's 'good and substantial reason' standard for wear and carry permits in line with this ruling.
READ MORE: Hogan orders State Police to halt ‘good and substantial reason’ for wear and carry permit applications
On Oct. 21, 2020, Baltimore Police responded to reports of a man with a handgun in the 6400 block of O'Donnell Street.
Officers found a group of people were huddled inside of a make-shift shack.
When they entered the shack, they found Yates sitting in a chair along with several other people. On the ground between Yate's feet was a black handgun.
Yates was quickly detained and the gun recovered was a Sig-Sauer 9MM loaded handgun.
He is prohibited from possessing any handguns, regulated firearms, or ammunition because he was previously convicted of a felony in June of 2015.
