A Glen Burnie man and former football player at St. Mary’s High School was sentenced to 55 years in prison Friday after a jury determined he was one of several shooters in an early morning gunfight in Annapolis.

The sentence was the maximum for Omaryan White’s attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault convictions. In addition to the two felonies, White was found guilty of two counts of reckless endangerment and four firearm offenses.

According to court documents, sentencing guidelines suggested a range of 10 to 20 years for White. However, citing a jail call in which the defendant threatened to shoot the “crackers” involved in his case, the state said they had “many reasons for an upward departure” from those guidelines.

“Our court system should strive to incarcerate only those defendants who terrify us, and not those which annoy us,” Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Neubauer wrote in a Feb. 18 memorandum. “This Defendant terrifies and terrorizes an entire community.”

Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Mark Crooks appeared to agree, issuing decades of incarceration for the 28-year-old. While the state asked for a 60-year sentence, the judge’s final ruling totaled 80, 25 years of which were suspended.

Friday’s hearing came almost a year after White’s conviction, delayed by the defendant’s failed bid for a new trial. In a handwritten letter, White told the judge that without identified victims, it was impossible to seat an impartial jury. Later, his replacement attorney Henry Roland Barnes, argued White received ineffective counsel.

White and his family have repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, even suggesting that one of his brothers was responsible for the crime. White’s relatives made the claim outside of Crooks’ courtroom last year, and the defendant repeated it on the stand in a post-conviction hearing, according to court documents.

Neubauer characterized the “wrong sibling” defense as a misguided attempt to create “a phony appellate issue” or obstruct justice.

Barnes did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a phone number for Kimberly White, the defendant’s mother, was out of service. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

As of Friday, no one else has been charged in connection to White’s case and no member of his family has turned themselves in.

White’s arrest stemmed from a July 2023 shooting in the capital city’s Harbour House community involving three gunman and no injuries.

White, however, was the only person arrested, linked to the scene by a “unique” Toyota Prius seen on surveillance video.

According to charging documents, when the car was recovered and towed, authorities found White’s wallet inside, as well as a bulletproof vest with a bullet lodged in it. Police also referenced a rental agreement for the Prius signed by White, but without a witness, the document was not entered into evidence.

Police said the Prius was parked in the public housing community during the shooting. It had a Florida license plate, an Uber sticker and a missing hubcap, according to charging documents.

On July 8, 2023, around 2:50 a.m., an SUV in the neighborhood pulled away from the 1100 block of Maddison Street and two passengers from the Prius began firing at two men. White, the driver, initially took cover, police said, before chasing and firing at the pair himself.

The attempted murder case became White’s third since March 2023, when he pleaded guilty to extorting and threatening Ward 6 Alderman DaJuan Gay. After the politician asked for leniency in the sentence, White received credit for nine days he spent in jail and was ordered to serve three years of supervised probation.

A few months later, in August 2023, White pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol. He was again sentenced to three years of supervised probation and received credit for two weeks of jail time.

And before this case, in 2017, White had been charged with attempted murder. He was found not guilty, however, after a judge suggested a key witness had been coerced by police. Though prosecutors argued the witness’ hesitation was part of a “no snitching” culture, the judge said she was “very confident” in her decision.

At the time, White told the Capital Gazette that the case had derailed his football career. After graduating from St. Mary’s in 2014, White played at Snow College in Utah, but dropped out when the shooting charges were filed.

Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@baltsun.com, 410-725-6214, or on X @lparkernews.