The Supreme Court of Maryland has granted a new trial to a man previously convicted of first-degree murder and firearm offenses related to a deadly 2022 shooting at a Red Roof Inn in Rockville. Sergey Danshin had been sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for the death of 39-year-old Javier Gonzalez-Mena.
Danshin was found guilty in connection with the June 22, 2022 shooting at the Red Roof Inn on Shady Grove Road. Although the Appellate Court of Maryland upheld the verdict in 2023, the state’s highest court has overturned that ruling.
In its decision, the Supreme Court found that the trial judge should have instructed jurors they could consider whether Danshin acted in defense of Gonzalez-Mena’s girlfriend, Christina Jones. While Danshin never admitted to firing the shot, he told police that Gonzalez-Mena had previously threatened him with a machete and appeared ready to seriously harm Jones during the encounter.
Danshin and two others reportedly went to the motel out of concern for Jones, who, according to the court, was in a tumultuous and sometimes abusive relationship with Gonzalez-Mena.
On the stand, Danshin described witnessing what he believed was a potentially deadly threat, stating, “I saw someone in imminent threat of not just bodily harm but imminent threat of lethal bodily harm,” referring to prior abuse.
Prosecutors had maintained that Danshin was not entitled to a jury instruction on self-defense because he didn’t acknowledge committing the shooting. However, the Supreme Court concluded that his statements to law enforcement were sufficient to allow jurors to consider whether he acted to protect Jones.
“The jury should have had the opportunity to consider whether they believed Mr. Danshin was acting in defense of Ms. Jones,” the court wrote.
The case will now return to Montgomery County Circuit Court for a new trial.
