Deep within a Maryland prison, a group of inmates are choosing to rise above their pasts, transforming simple ingredients into sweet possibilities, and baking their way toward a future sprinkled with hope.

BALTIMORE — A Harford County man is expected to be sentenced Thursday morning after he was convicted of killing a man with an axe and pled guilty to murdering his cellmate, according to Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates.

In September 2022, Gordon Staron was charged with using an axe to kill a 63-year-old man at a bus station in the 1400 block of East Monument Street, police said. The victim – Keith Bell – died at a hospital.

Staron was taken to the Baltimore City Central Booking Intake Facility and charged with first-degree murder, according to police.

In October 2022, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said a deaf detainee at the booking facility was found unresponsive.

Javarick Gantt, 34, of Annapolis had been detained in the facility since July 1, 2022, officials said. His death was later ruled a homicide.

In January 2023, State’s Attorney Bates announced he would join the prosecution team in Gantt’s murder trial and said he intended to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. It was the first time a Baltimore City case was prosecuted by a sitting State’s Attorney in nearly a decade, his office said.

“Here, you have a suspect who’s alleged to have committed two separate murders, one on an older adult and one on a vulnerable adult,” Bates said, explaining why he took the case.  

Bates has raised questions about the city’s jail system and backlogged courts. After the incident, jail officials refused to answer questions about why Staron was being housed with Gantt, a disabled man who was facing relatively minor charges.

In October, Staron pled guilty to murder. He is expected to be sentenced for both cases on Thursday morning.

“When I campaigned for this office, I promised to be a champion and defender of our older adult and disabled community in Baltimore, and the outcomes of these cases will undoubtedly ensure that Mr. Staron is never back on our streets to commit more malicious acts against vulnerable individuals,” Bates said.