A Columbia man pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the fatal January shooting of a 17-year-old in Howard County, prosecutors said.

Charles Epperson Jr., 20, admitted to killing Lance Carrington in a planned robbery on Jan. 14, according to the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Epperson was sentenced in Howard County Circuit Court to life in prison, with all but 13 years suspended, under a plea agreement.

After completing his prison term, Epperson will serve five years of supervised probation.

His formal sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9, to allow him to testify against four co-defendants in related cases. Without the plea deal, he faced a potential life sentence without parole if convicted at trial.

Prosecutors detail shooting

According to prosecutors, Epperson and the others used Instagram to arrange a robbery of Carrington to steal a gun.

Prosecutors said co-defendant Janae Baker, 19, met Carrington at a predetermined location.

While Epperson and Baker were in Carrington’s car, Epperson opened the passenger door for Baker to leave.

At the same time, another 17-year-old co-defendant approached the driver’s side with a gun.

Kendall Stagg, 18, and Jeremiah Robinson, 20, also co-defendants, stood near the rear of the vehicle, prosecutors said.

Carrington was shot, and all the suspects fled.

Police found his body around 8:30 p.m. Jan. 14 in the 6000 block of Helen Dorsey Way in East Columbia.

Officers responding to a welfare check found a parked car with music playing, brake lights on, and bullet damage to the driver’s side window.

Stagg is scheduled for trial on Sept. 22. Parker and Robinson will head to trial on Oct. 6, and Baker on Oct. 20.

All trials will be held in Howard County Circuit Court.

Howard County Police, working with the U.S. Marshals Service, spent four months locating Parker, who was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, in May.

Epperson, Baker, and Stagg were arrested in February, and Robinson was arrested in March.

Youth crime in Howard County

The fatal shooting of Carrington was one of several recent high-profile cases involving young people in Howard County.

In July 2024, 17-year-old Angelo Little was shot inside The Mall in Columbia. After a nearly 10-month search, police arrested William Marshall III, 18, in New York, in connection with the shooting. Authorities said Marshall is accused of shooting Little after an altercation near the mall’s food court.

On February 22, two teens, Michael Robertson, 16, and Blake McCray, 15, were shot outside the same mall.

Robertson died at the scene, and McCray died later at a hospital.

The suspect, Emmetson Zeah, 18, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

In response to the violence, the county increased patrols and police visibility at the mall, added covert and undercover details, and worked with school resource officers to intervene when teens are involved in violent crimes.

In April, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced the creation of the Youth Engagement Strategies Council (YES), aimed at reducing crime by working with police and expanding the county’s mental health resources.

WJZ is a media partner with The Baltimore Banner.