Jaylen Prince was a sixteen year old living in Maryland when he would murder Warren Grant inside of a Joppatowne High School bathroom
According to court documents Jaylen Prince and Warren Grant were involved in an argument about a girl inside of a Joppatowne High School bathroom when Prince pulled out a gun and fatally shot Grant
Jaylen Prince would later tell police that he felt that he was about to be jumped and pulled out the gun to scare them off and then the gun went off by accident
Jaylen Prince would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for eighty years
Jaylen Prince Current Information
| Full Name | DOC # | SID | Gender | DOB | Facility | Facility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAYLEN PRINCE | 00507056 | 5589320 | Male | 06/2008 | YDC | Youth Detention Center |
Jaylen Prince Case
Jaylen Rushawn Prince was sentenced in the Circuit Court for Harford County before the Honorable Judge Keven Mahoney following his May, 2025 conviction by the jury for the First Degree Murder of Warren Grant and related charges on September 6, 2024 at Joppatowne High School.
In her sentencing presentation to the Court, State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey read ten victim impact statements provided by various family members and friends of the victim. All the statements highlighted the “crushing emotional toll” the murder has had on the family, as well as the “incomprehensible loss” they have suffered, describing the victim as “selfless, loving, kind, and loyal.” Through their statements the victim’s family requested “accountability and justice” for the senseless murder that took Warren Grant’s life.
Ms. Healey argued that Jaylen Prince is not, and may never be, amendable to treatment, introducing Harford County Public School records highlighting a longstanding history of violence to include dozens of incidents of threats toward teachers, multiple attacks and physical violence towards peers, and continuous verbally abusive behavior. She also introduced two hundred pages of records from the Charles H. Hickey School where the Defendant was held both pending trial and post-trial. These records outlined continued assaultive behaviors sometimes requiring physical restraint and often unprovoked. They also noted numerous occasions of threats and verbal abuse toward teachers, counselors, and staff continuing even following his guilty conviction in this case. A psychological evaluation that was performed on the Defendant by Dr. Witczak, a psychologist with the Department of Mental Health, was also filed with the Court for sentencing purposes, which found Prince to be an “extremely high risk for future violence.” Overall, Ms. Healey argued to the Court that the Defendant continues to be a serious risk to public safety and stated that the message “must be swift and certain” to deter future gun violence in our schools. Due to the Defendant’s age at the time of the offense, the State was unable to seek a sentence of Life without the Possibility of Parole, so instead requested a total sentence of Life suspending all but one hundred (100) years to serve to ensure that Prince would, in fact, remain incarcerated for a significant period of his life.
The Honorable Judge Mahoney stated that the effects of this tragedy are “profound and long lasting.” He also noted that children should be able to go to school and come home at the end of the day without fear of gun violence and that “this should not be an acceptable reality.” Ultimately, he noted that there was no threat toward the defendant by the victim in this case, and that Prince clearly and knowingly brought a loaded firearm to school with the intent to use it. He further highlighted the Defendant’s long and significant history of violence before handing down a sentence of Life plus twenty (20) years, suspending all but eighty (80) years to serve with five years of supervised probation upon release. Because this case involves a crime of violence, Prince will not be eligible for his first parole review until at least half of his sentence is served.
Following the sentencing State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey, commented: “No sentence will ever bring Warren back to his loved ones or make up for the fact that his life was cut short in the most tragic and senseless way. However, today we did our best to seek justice for both him and his family. Through this sentence, we have ensured that Jaylen Prince will no longer be a threat to our community. It is my hope that today will help close the hardest chapter of Warren family’s lives and send the message that gun violence will not be tolerated in our schools, or in our community at all for that matter.”
State’s Attorney Healey also continues to express her sincere appreciation for Assistant State’s Attorney Anthony Baranauskas for his continued assistance as second chair in the case.
Jaylen Prince News
Jaylen Prince, a teenager who was found guilty of shooting and killing a classmate inside a Maryland high school in 2024, was sentenced on Tuesday in a Harford County courtroom.
Prince was sentenced to life in prison with all but 75 years suspended for the murder of 15-year-old Warren Grant inside a Joppatowne High School bathroom. He was also handed a 20-year sentence, with all by five years suspended for a handgun violation.
Prince will serve 80 years in prison, but he will be eligible for parole after serving roughly 40 years. According to Maryland’s Juvenile Restoration Act, a minor can’t be imposed a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Prince, 17, was convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Grant on September 6, 2024. In May, jurors found Prince guilty following approximately three hours of deliberations.
“The actions of one student resulted in the death of another, and in doing so, altered the course of two young lives and impacted an entire community,” said Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler. “This case underscores the serious consequences of violence within our schools. When such incidents occur, they not only affect the individuals directly involved but also disrupt the sense of safety and stability that schools are meant to provide.”
Prosecution digs into Prince’s violent past
During the sentencing hearing State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey recapped the case, explaining how Prince brought a loaded gun to school and followed Grant into the bathroom, threatening to shoot him at least four times before finally pulling the trigger.
Healey also touched on Prince’s violent and aggressive history, naming numerous incidents he was involved in before the case. She highlighted the incidents he’s been involved with after the shooting while detained at the Hickey School.
Healey named nearly 15 incidents, including assault, fights, threats, and aggression to teachers and other students at the school, arguing that Prince is not someone who can be rehabilitated.
“He is continuing his pattern of violence,” Healey said. “He’s a threat to public safety, exactly what I said in there, right? That he has this long-standing history of violence that we’ve seen in the school system, and then when we got the records and saw that he is continuing this pattern of violence, all the way up to the trial, after the trial, just that it wasn’t stopping.”
Attorney says Prince is remorseful
The defense argued that Prince is extremely remorseful for the deadly shooting, reading letters from former coaches, tutors, employers, and family members about how Prince is an eager and intelligent young man with a lot of potential for treatment.
Jaylen Prince even read a letter in court that he wrote to his future self, explaining how he’s turned his life around to do good and not make the same mistakes.
Attorney Stacey Pipkin highlighted the programs Prince has completed since attending the Hickey School, including an electrician program and an anger management program. He also recently graduated with his GED.
But the judge argued that because of Prince’s actions, Grant will never have the chance to graduate high school or live out the rest of his life, which is how he landed on his decision.
The trial
Police said Prince pulled out a gun from his backpack and shot Grant during a fight inside the bathroom at Joppatowne High School.
Jaylen Prince didn’t show much emotion as the verdict was read. However, several members of the gallery were tearful, and so were members of the jury.
His trial lasted eight days with testimony from classmates, law enforcement, and Prince’s mother. Prince took the stand in his defense on May 28.
Prince told the jury that he did not intend to kill Grant, which was the argument from the defense.
Jaylen Prince testifies in his defense
Prince testified that Grant was the aggressor. He said that Grant came from behind and tried to start a fight over his girlfriend.
Prince told the court that he said to Grant, “My hand is broke. I ain’t fighting nobody,” referring to an injury that required emergency surgery months before the shooting.
He then told Grant, “If you touch me, I will kill you,” before he pulled a gun from his backpack to scare his classmates off.
Jaylen Prince told the jury that Grant shook him, and the gun fired.
“I did not fire the gun. It accidentally went off,” Prince said during his testimony.
Prosecutors say Jaylen Prince was the aggressor
The state’s attorney argued that the video shared by a witness showed Prince to be the aggressor and threatened to kill Grant four times.
Witnesses testified that they saw Prince grab the gun from his backpack, cock the weapon, and shoot Grant before running away and getting rid of the gun, which was never found.
Jaylen Prince said he purchased the gun to protect himself because he “was afraid of a lot of places,” after losing at least five friends to gun violence.
An expert testified that Prince’s phone contained several photos of the gun, which matched the bullets recovered from Grant’s body.
