A 25-year-old man is expected to serve 45 years in prison for his involvement in a March 2023 shootout in Rockville that occurred as a school bus was dropping off children nearby, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Zachary Ciccantelli of Rockville was sentenced Thursday to 490 years in prison with all but 45 years suspended plus five years of supervised probation upon release by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Marielsa Bernard, the state’s attorney’s office said in a Friday news release. Bernard also recommended that Ciccantelli be admitted to the Patuxent Youthful Offenders Program while incarcerated.
Andrew Jezic, Ciccantelli’s attorney, was not available Friday afternoon to provide comment to MoCo360 about the sentencing, according to a secretary at his office.
In May, Ciccantelli and co-defendant Callen Baker, 21, of Jefferson, Maryland, were convicted on charges related to the shootout, which occurred in the 700 block of Monroe Street. A county circuit court jury found the pair guilty of 18 counts of first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence and reckless endangerment.
On Sept. 6 Baker was sentenced to 30 years in prison, plus five years of probation upon release. He was also recommended to the Patuxent Youthful Offenders Program while incarcerated.
According to authorities, around 3:45 p.m. on March 1, 2023, Baker and Ciccantelli arrived at the Fireside Park apartment complex on the 700 block of Monroe Street, where a group of people were recording a music video. When Ciccantelli opened fire on the group, multiple members of the group fired back.
Video collected by police from a nearby doorbell camera and a Montgomery County Public Schools bus captured the altercation as Baker and Ciccantelli escaped in a getaway car, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Baker drove the getaway vehicle, which was captured on the school bus surveillance video, driving around the bus and fleeing, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
During the investigation, police recovered more than 20 shell casings and a “privately manufactured firearm,” also known as a ghost gun, with an extended magazine at the scene, according to charging documents. Multiple occupied apartment buildings were struck by bullets during the shootout and no injuries were reported.
Baker and Ciccantelli were both arrested in August 2023 and were held without bond, according to court records.
“If you’re willing to engage in this type of activity you belong in jail, and for a long time,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a Sept. 6 statement. “There was zero regard for the innocent lives in close proximity to the reckless gunfire. We thank the judge for this sentence, which should send a clear message that this terrifying behavior will not be tolerated.”
