One of Two Men Charged in Connection with Annapolis Homicide Enters Guilty Plea

One of the two men charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a man on Bens Drive in Annapolis nearly two years ago has entered a plea of guilty.  

On March 15, 2020, at 6:23 p.m., the Annapolis Police Department received calls reporting shots fired on Bens Drive. Officers arrived and located Leslie Saunders, 49, laying between two apartment buildings. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

On April 3, 2020, members of the Annapolis Police, working with officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department, arrested Michael Gibson, 21, of President Street in Annapolis.  

During a hearing at the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court on January 25, 2022, Gibson pled guilty to first degree murder and use of a firearm while committing a violent crime. 

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Gibson on April 26, 2022.

Thomas Deangelo Smith, 33, had also been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Mr. Saunders.  On December 6, 2021, Smith entered an alford plea to first degree murder and use of a firearm while committing a violent crime.

Under an alford plea, defendants maintain their  innocence while acknowledging prosecutors have enough evidence that could be used to find them guilty at trial.

Smith is expected to be sentenced on March 31, 2022.