A Baltimore man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday for fleeing from police in a stolen car, crashing into another vehicle, collapsing a building and fatally striking a pedestrian.

City Circuit Judge Dana Michele Middleton sentenced Shawn Brunson to the maximum penalties under the law for vehicular manslaughter and theft of something with the value of $1,500 to $25,000, according to online court records.

Middleton added more than 14 years of incarceration to that sentence for Brunson’s violation of probation, a spokesperson for Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in an email.

Under Maryland law, Brunson, 35, will become eligible for parole after serving 50% of his sentence. He is being represented by the Office of the Public Defender, which declined to comment.

In a statement, Bates, a Democrat, applauded the prosecutor on the case, Rita Wisthoff-Ito, and said the stiff penalty signaled “our unwavering concern for the victim and their family and my administration’s steadfast stance against lawlessness in Baltimore.”

“This case vividly illustrates the perils of stolen vehicles and reckless driving in our city,” Bates said. “It starkly portrays how such actions can swiftly lead to deadly consequences in the blink of an eye. The havoc caused by this defendant tragically claimed the life of an innocent pedestrian and endangered countless others.”

A jury in February found Brunson guilty of three charges stemming from a Feb. 8, 2023, crash that killed 54-year-old Albert Fincher and injured five other people. Fincher’s family remembered the demolition worker as a kind, helpful and loving relative.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division investigated the officers’ actions in the fatal police chase. Bates’ office declined in November 2023 to prosecute the officers involved in the pursuit.

Footage from the body-worn camera of Baltimore Police Officer Devin Yancy released by the attorney general showed the officer’s patrol car following what investigators said was a stolen Hyundai Sonata through several blocks of East Baltimore. While Yancy pursues the vehicle at high speed, a lieutenant told officers to “just let it go,” according to the attorney general’s report on the police pursuit.

CitiWatch camera footage captured Hyundai colliding with a Mitsubishi Eclipse at the intersection of North Wolfe Street and East North Avenue. Racing through a red light at the intersection, the Hyundai collided with the front end of the Mitsubishi, which was traveling perpendicular to the Hyundai.

The force of the collision sent the vehicles careening into a vacant building at the intersection’s southeast corner, plowing over Fincher. The building collapsed immediately, bringing an avalanche of rubble down on Fincher and the cars. Nearly a dozen officers could be seen sorting through the crumbled brick to reach the vehicle’s occupants.

Five people who were in the two cars were injured and hospitalized. Medics pronounced Fincher dead at the scene.

Officers took Brunson into custody when he was released from the hospital. He waived his right to remain silent and spoke to detectives the night of the crash, according to the attorney general’s report.