Background: Surveillance footage shows McRae and two other people approach the victim's vehicle before the shooting (WBAL/YouTube). Inset top: Cassandra McRae (Baltimore Police Department). Inset bottom: Anntoinette Jennings (GoFundMe).
A woman will likely spend the rest of her life in prison after a grandmother was killed in Maryland due to a confrontation at a children's basketball game.
Cassandra McRae, 38, was sentenced to 140 years in prison — with the first 25 years without the possibility of parole — after being found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 52-year-old Anntoinette Jennings, the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City announced. McRae was also convicted of four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, four counts of attempted murder in the second degree, five counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony or crime of violence and reckless endangerment.
On Jan. 22, McRae was at a children's basketball game "involving the victim's family," according to the agency, which stated that an "altercation" occurred. It was Jennings' granddaughter's game, according to a GoFundMe, set up for the victim.
Video apparently then showed McRae "leaving the game while making a phone call."
The since-convicted defendant then entered a gray car, which followed Jennings' Honda CRV to the area of the 5400 block of York Road in Baltimore, Maryland.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed McRae get out of a car, approach Jennings' vehicle, and touch it as two men approached from the other side. "There they go right there, there they go right there," McRae reportedly said, and within seconds, a man shot into Jennings' vehicle.
The three suspects then left.
The Baltimore Police Department received a report of multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds inside a CRV. Responding officers arrived to find Jennings dead; four other people were inside the same vehicle, with two being hit, including an 11-year-old child.
The other two people inside the Honda, including a 6-year-old, were physically unharmed.
McRae was identified as a suspect and arrested, as was a man. However, the man was "ultimately acquitted of all charges," the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City said.
The other suspect has not been caught, according to local CBS affiliate WJZ.
"A sentence of 140 years reflects the devastating consequences of this Defendant's actions. Her willingness to engage in conduct that took the life of a grandmother and injured two other people, including an 11-year-old child, demonstrates a shocking disregard for human life and the safety of innocent children," State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates said. "There was no rational justification for putting so many lives at risk, and the consequences of that reckless violence will forever be felt by the victims, their families, and our community."