Baltimore dad who pointed gun at coach during son’s basketball game gets federal prison sentence

BALTIMORE – A Baltimore man who pointed a loaded gun at a coach during an argument about his son’s playing time at a youth basketball game received eight years in prison Wednesday at his sentencing in federal court.

Troy Spencer, 50, previously pleaded guilty to gun charges in connection with the confrontation at Leith Walk Elementary Middle School in North Baltimore’s Ramblewood neighborhood, where he pulled a gun on one of his son’s coaches during a basketball game March 6, 2023, causing a panic in the school’s gymnasium. U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin said a lengthy prison term was necessary to protect the public from Spencer and deter others from bringing guns into sensitive public spaces.

“The fact that you would go to your boy’s elementary school with a loaded semi-automatic weapon is just terrifying,” Rubin said.

Spencer’s son was in fifth grade at the time of the incident. Spencer pleaded guilty in June to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a firearm in a school zone. He is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a 1997 second-degree murder conviction for which he served about eight years in prison, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.

The defense and prosecution agreed on a recommended sentence range of about four to eight years, which was higher than federal sentencing guidelines, as part of the plea agreement. On Wednesday, prosecutors sought the highest sentence of 96 months, while Jennifer Smith, Spencer’s defense attorney, asked for 57 months.

“Troy Spencer pulled a gun in the middle of an elementary school gymnasium in front of dozens of children and their families,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gordin said.

In a time of mass shootings and active shooter drills at schools, he said, children are especially traumatized by the sight of a gun at school.

Spencer confronted the coaches because he was “unhappy about his son’s playing time,” prosecutors wrote in their memo. As the verbal argument escalated, Spencer pulled a Taurus G2C 9mm semiautomatic handgun from his waistband and pointed it at the coach.

The sight of the weapon caused a panic as young basketball players and their families fled the gym, Gordin said. The volunteer coaches managed to wrestle the gun away from Spencer, who fled in a vehicle and was arrested a week later.

The gun, which one of the coaches turned over to the police, was loaded with 7 rounds of 9mm ammunition, prosecutors wrote in court papers.

Rubin called the incident “hair-raising” and said deterring others was a key reason for her sentence.

“The community really knows about what happened here and it’s important to me that people think twice about thoughtlessly bringing a loaded weapon into a school,” she said.

Smith, Spencer’s defense lawyer, said that Spencer was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder when he went to the basketball game. He had been shot 11 times just a few months earlier, she said, and the game was one of his first times leaving his home since the attack.

“He was not a reasonable person that day,” Smith said.

No one was ever apprehended in connection with Spencer’s shooting, she added.

Spencer also has a long history of mental health problems and traumatic experiences. Rubin said that Spencer, according to a presentencing report, has witnessed eight murders during his life, and has been shot and stabbed multiple times. He also has a criminal history that includes gun and drug offenses.

Rubin recommended that he receive mental health treatment as part of his sentence, which includes a period of supervision after his prison term.

“I hope that you get the help that you need,” Rubin told Spencer.