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La Plata resident Ryan Lamont Bell, 38 was sentenced to 35 years in prison in connection to the fatal shooting of Leon Nathaniel Inabinett, Jr. in June 2021 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
His co-conspirator, Jahad Karim Frierson, 27, was found guilty last month following a nine-day trial, according to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office.
The shooting happened on June 20, 2021, at the Bryans Road Firehouse in the 3000 block of Livingston Road, where Inabinett had been attending a birthday party.
An investigation revealed Frierson had an issue with Inabinett stemming from a prior incident, and Frierson enlisted the help of Bell to confront the victim.
The pair hid in bushes outside the firehouse, waiting for Inabinett to leave, prosecutors said. When he exited carrying a tray of cookies, Frierson and Bell approached him in the rear parking lot.
Frierson, armed with a handgun supplied by Bell, struck Inabinett before shooting him multiple times, investigators said.
Inabinett managed to return to the firehouse to seek help but collapsed in a hallway. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries.
At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Constance Kopelman told the judge that the victim was “loved by so many people” and Bell and Frierson “took him away from all of his family, all of his friends, all of the people that he wanted to make a positive impact on.”
She furthered that this was a “senseless act against an innocent man.
"He had no idea he was about to be ambushed. They confronted an unsuspecting young man with cookies," Kopelman continued. "It could only end in violence and (Bell) understood that. It really doesn’t get more senseless than that.
"His life was senselessly snuffed out over nothing. He didn’t deserve it. He walked out with cookies and ended up being brutally murdered by Bell and Frierson.”
Key evidence included Bell's ankle monitor, which placed him at the scene, along with cell phone records and surveillance footage showing the suspects confronting the victim and fleeing.
The murder weapon was later recovered from Bell’s vehicle, and Bell admitted to cleaning the gun after the shooting.
Bell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and use of a firearm during a crime of violence in 2022.
Before sentencing Bell, the judge stated, “Leon was a lot of things to a lot of people; very few people are inspirational. When people like that vanish from the community, the loss is felt more than what can be described here.” He furthered, “the loss is tremendous. The circumstances are extreme, harsh, and brutal.”
Frierson, who faces up to 40 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2025.
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