Prosecutors used video of events before the gunfire to establish McRae’s role in an attack that killed Anntoinette Jennings.
BALTIMORE, Md. — Cassandra McRae was not identified as the person who fired into a vehicle on York Road, but prosecutors said surveillance footage showed her helping lead the armed men to the victims before gunfire killed a Baltimore grandmother and wounded two others.
That evidence became central to the case that ended with McRae’s conviction and a sentence requiring her to serve 140 years in prison. Baltimore Circuit Judge Dana Middleton described McRae during sentencing as the catalyst for the deadly encounter, according to The Baltimore Banner, while McRae continued to maintain that she was innocent.
The case began with an altercation at a children’s basketball game on Jan. 22, 2025. Prosecutors said surveillance cameras captured a dispute involving McRae and members of the family of Anntoinette Jennings, a 52-year-old grandmother and pre-K teacher’s aide at Waverly Elementary/Middle School.
Investigators said video then showed McRae leaving the game while making a phone call. She entered a gray sedan that followed the family’s Honda CR-V to the 5400 block of York Road, according to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. That sequence allowed prosecutors to link the confrontation at the game with what happened minutes later on the street.
At York Road, authorities said McRae got out of the sedan and approached the Honda from the rear passenger side while two men moved toward the driver’s side. Prosecutors said she touched the vehicle’s rear quarter panel and said, “There they go right there.” One of the men then fired into the vehicle, and all three people fled, investigators said.
Jennings died at the scene. Two other people in the vehicle were shot, including an 11-year-old child. Earlier reporting identified the other wounded occupant as a 29-year-old man. Two additional occupants, including a 6-year-old child, were not struck. The shooting transformed what prosecutors described as a dispute at a youth sporting event into a homicide case involving five people inside the vehicle.
McRae ultimately was convicted of second-degree murder rather than the first-degree murder count originally brought against her. She also was convicted of four conspiracy counts, four counts of attempted second-degree murder, five firearm counts and reckless endangerment. The verdict allowed the court to hold her criminally responsible for the attack even though the evidence described a male suspect as the person who fired the shots.
The result differed sharply for Tavon Singleton, who investigators identified as one of the men who approached the victims’ vehicle. Singleton was tried in connection with the same shooting but was acquitted of all charges. The outcome left McRae as the defendant convicted in the case. The State’s Attorney’s Office previously said another male suspect had remained at large.
At sentencing, prosecutors argued that McRae’s conduct before the shooting made her responsible for the chain of events that followed. Assistant State’s Attorney Megan Gallo sought the maximum sentence of 295 years and described McRae as having orchestrated the plan. Defense attorney Michael Tomko argued for no more than 25 years, noting that McRae had no prior criminal record and had not been the shooter.
McRae told the court she had been wrongfully convicted and said she wanted justice for Jennings’ family as well. Middleton rejected the defense request and imposed a 150-year sentence with all but 140 years suspended. The first 25 years are to be served without parole, with three years of supervised probation ordered if McRae is released.
The sentencing closes the trial-court phase against McRae while leaving questions elsewhere in the investigation. Singleton has been acquitted, and authorities have continued to report an unresolved second male suspect. The reviewed reports did not establish whether McRae had formally begun an appeal of her conviction or sentence.
Author note: Last updated October 15, 2026.