Maryland’s Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of first-degree murder and gun charges and sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for a 2022 shooting at a Rockville Red Roof Inn.
Sergey Danshin was convicted in the death of 39-year-old Javier Gonzalez-Mena, who was staying at the Red Roof Inn on Shady Grove Road on June 22, 2022. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years in May 2023, and the Appellate Court of Maryland affirmed the conviction.
However, Maryland’s Supreme Court has reversed the decision, saying jurors should have been instructed that they were allowed to consider whether Danshin was acting in defense of Gonzalez-Mena’s girlfriend, Christina Jones.
Danshin never admitted to the shooting, but trial testimony included his discussion with a detective, in which he said, “It looked like he was going to cut her goddamn head off with the machete because he had chased me with that same machete away from the room when I knocked on the door.”
Danshin and two others had come to the Red Roof Inn out of concern that Jones was in danger from Gonzalez-Mena — the Supreme Court ruling said the two “were in a fraught and sometimes violent relationship.”
“I saw someone in imminent threat of not just bodily harm but imminent threat of lethal bodily harm and with complete knowledge that this person has hurt their victim previously on more than two occasions,” Danshin said in his testimony.
During trial and the subsequent appeal, prosecutors said since Danshin never admitted to the shooting, he wasn’t entitled to the in-defense-of-others jury instruction.
The Supreme Court said the trial court and appeals court erred, because the discussions with the detectives met the “some evidence” hurdle, that if jurors believed, would have allowed them to determine that Danshin acted in lawful defense of Jones.
“The jury should have had the opportunity to consider whether they believed Mr. Danshin was acting in defense of Ms. Jones,” ruled the High Court.
The Supreme Court reversed the appellate court ruling and remanded the case to Montgomery County for a new trial.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
