A Baltimore woman has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for her part in a three-month string of gun store burglaries across the state.

Mahkiya Mcquinn-Woodley pleaded guilty on Dec. 4 to five of the 200 charges filed against her earlier this year by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and was sentenced the same day.

Court records show her conviction included three felonies: participation in a criminal organization and two counts of second-degree burglary of a firearm. She was also convicted of misdemeanor counts of possession of a stolen, regulated firearm and reckless endangerment.

Mcquinn-Woodley, 21, is the oldest of four people indicted in the burglaries, which resulted in 81 firearms being stolen. The only other defendant named by authorities was Cy’juan Hemsley, a District Heights man whose case has made little progress in the court system.

Two boys, aged 16 and 17 at the time of their arrests, were also charged. Because they are juvenile defendants, information on their cases is not available.

When announcing the indictments in August, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said only six of the stolen weapons had been recovered. Many, state officials said, were sold “well above fair market value” to other juveniles or people not allowed to possess them.

Despite her plea, Mcquinn-Woodley has asked the court to modify her sentence, which was reduced from 12 years of incarceration, according to the Maryland Judiciary. A review hearing is scheduled for May 7.

Public defender Anne Stewart-Hill, who is representing Mcquinn-Woodley, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

According to the indictment, the first burglary took place on Christmas Eve last year in Prince George’s County and led to the theft of 35 firearms. Though Mcquinn-Woodley was accused of participating in that burglary, the next day, other members of the “enterprise” canvassed or attempted to break into six other gun shops, authorities said, including three in Glen Burnie.

Between Christmas Eve, 2023, and March 4, the group committed or tried to commit break-ins at eight businesses during 10 separate incidents, authorities said. All of the stolen firearms, except for 10 airsoft guns, were taken from the first gun shop in Prince George’s County, according to the indictment. Airsoft guns fire plastic pellets instead of bullets and are typically used recreationally.

Authorities said some of the 81 weapons were used in other crimes, including a shooting in District Heights in which no one was injured. In early January, a little more than a week after the first burglary, an individual was accidentally shot through both feet and soon after, the weapons were stolen by a rival group, law enforcement said.

Beyond break-ins, Mcquinn-Woodley is named in the indictment for firing a handgun into the air, as well as posting several videos of herself online either holding or dancing with firearms.

State officials said in August that social media played a critical role in their investigation. According to the indictment, messages and posts from the defendants reference the burglaries, show stolen guns and depict firearm sales.

Mcquinn-Woodley will serve her sentence in an Anne Arundel County detention center, according to court records.

The investigation involved police departments from the affected counties, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Baltimore Field Division.

In August, during his announcement, Brown described the indictments as the product of a “two-part mission” — finding those responsible for the burglaries and finding the guns.

“It’s when these guns fall into the hands of those who are banned from possessing them, that’s what creates the greatest danger in our community,” Brown said. “We must put a stop to this and get these guns off our streets.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the stolen firearms is asked to contact either the anonymous tip lines for Anne Arundel County Police at 410-222-4700 or Prince George’s County Police at 1-866-411-8477.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office was not immediately available for comment Monday.

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