Man gets five years for gun-related assault near North East

Cecil County Circuit Court Judge Cameron A. Brown imposed a maximum 10-year sentence on the defendant — Clyde Ellis Smith Jr., 59 — for second-degree assault and then suspended half of the penalty, court records show.

In addition, Brown imposed a 15-year sentence on Smith for possession of a rifle or shotgun by a person with a felony conviction and then suspended all but two years of it, according to court records, which further indicate that the judge made that sentence concurrent with the one he gave him for the second-degree assault conviction.

The judge gave Smith credit for 140 days that he served as a pre-trial inmate in the Cecil County Detention Center after his October arrest, court records show.

Also part of the sentence, Brown ordered Smith to serve four years of supervised probation after completing his five-year term in a Maryland Department of Corrections prison.

Brown imposed those sentences during a courtroom hearing on Monday, after Smith had pleaded guilty to those two charges earlier in the proceeding as part of a plea agreement. Smith accepted that plea deal two days before his jury trial was scheduled to start. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed seven related charges against Smith, including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony or a crime of violence, court records show.

The incident leading to the barricade situation and Smith’s arrest occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the living room of a townhouse in the 5000 block of Maresca Circle, where, according to court records, Smith pulled a rifle from behind his back during an argument with his 56-year-old girlfriend after reportedly saying, “We’re going to settle this now.”

Then, as Smith moved closer to his girlfriend, he pointed the rifle at her, police reported. His girlfriend tried to call 911, but Smith slapped the phone out of her hand and grabbed her left arm, causing minor bruising, police said. After the woman managed to push Smith into a chair, she ran to a neighbor’s home and called 911, police added.

When Maryland State Police troopers arrived at the scene, Smith was “barricaded in the home on the rear second-story porch with a loaded shotgun,” according to court records. Smith remained barricaded for approximately two hours, before he walked out of the residence and surrendered himself, complying with police orders, court records show.

While searching the residence after the incident, investigators found and confiscated six guns, including a Thompson Center Arms .50 caliber, a semi-automatic Ruger 1022 22LR caliber, a semi-automatic Marlin Model 60 22LR caliber and a Mossberg pump-action .12 gauge shotgun, according to court records. In addition, investigators found and seized 289 rounds of ammunition, police reported.

Investigators contacted the Maryland Gun Center and learned that Smith is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to a felony conviction in Baltimore City, court records show.