On August 4, 2022, a Carroll County jury found Antonio Lamar Thurman guilty of Aggravated Battery, two counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Carroll County Magistrate Court Judge Michael Hubbard presided over the case after being specially appointed to do so by Carroll County Chief Superior Court Judge John Simpson.

Thurman will be sentenced on September 2, 2022.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert Peterkin prosecuted the case with the assistance of Investigator Jeremy McCormick of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. The evidence showed the following:

At around four o’clock on the morning of September 11, 2021, the defendant, Antonio Thurman, was attending a house party on Shady Grove Road. The defendant became enraged for unknown reasons with another guest at the party. The defendant and this guest got in a fight, which concluded with the other guest being choked by the defendant almost to the point of unconsciousness on the porch steps of the residence. Unnamed guests at the party intervened to stop this conflict and separated the defendant from the person being choked.

Several moments later, the defendant retrieved a firearm from a bag he had previously been wearing, and fired two shots toward the guest he fought. This guest was on the porch with numerous bystanders when the defendant fired shots at him. One of the bullets struck the leg of a woman who was inside of the residence at the time of the shooting. This victim was treated at a local hospital and spent two months in a wheelchair as a result of her injuries.

It should be noted that the guest who was strangled refused to testify in this case. However, although the shooting victim was hesitant to testify, she and only one of the many witnesses on the porch testified at trial. Additional evidence included video recordings obtained by investigators which showed the defendant choking the other guest and then shooting a gun at him.

This case shows that the District Attorney’s Office and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department will do everything possible to hold violent offenders accountable for the terror they inflict in our neighborhoods. The District Attorney’s Office understands that witnesses are often afraid to testify, but too often witness reluctance allows violent felons like this defendant to avoid accountability and continue to victimize other members of our community.

The District Attorney hopes the resolve to seek justice for the guest that was shot at, and the female victim that was shot in the leg, will give courage to others in our community who are victims of violence and witnesses to violence to come forward and speak the truth. As this case shows, when law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office have the evidence, we will fight for justice and seek to remove violent offenders from our community.

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