FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 14, 2025
Re: State v. Jaylen Rushawn Prince
On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 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 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.