A conviction for second-degree murder came down to James Richburg after surveillance video captured the deadly confrontation with fellow passenger William Womack.

BALTIMORE, Md. — A 63-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to 70 years in prison for fatally shooting William Womack aboard a Maryland Transit Administration bus after an argument that prosecutors said began when Womack accidentally bumped into him and did not apologize.

James Richburg received the sentence July 10 after a Baltimore jury previously convicted him of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence and illegal possession of a firearm. The sentence brought the criminal case to its most consequential stage nearly 20 months after the Nov. 30, 2024, shooting in downtown Baltimore. Prosecutors had asked Baltimore Circuit Judge Kimberly McBride to impose the maximum 75-year term. McBride instead ordered 70 years, a sentence that prosecutors said will effectively keep Richburg incarcerated for the rest of his life.

The sentencing hearing focused not only on the brief encounter that preceded the shooting but also on what happened after it. Assistant State’s Attorney Brent Weinberg read five victim-impact statements from Womack’s mother, his uncle and three sisters. Family members described Womack as a father of two who was caring, funny and devoted to football and music. They filled the back row of the courtroom gallery as the judge considered arguments over punishment. Outside the courthouse afterward, Womack’s mother, Tamika Johnson, said she was pleased with the sentence but made clear that a prison term could not undo her family’s loss.

McBride said during sentencing that she did not believe Richburg had gone out that afternoon looking for trouble, according to courtroom reporting. She also noted that he had expressed remorse. But the judge emphasized that a jury had already weighed the competing accounts of what happened on the bus and returned guilty verdicts. Weinberg urged the court to impose 75 years, pointing both to the circumstances of Womack’s death and to Richburg’s criminal history, which he said included convictions for robbery, burglary and illegal possession of a regulated firearm. The prosecutor argued that the record showed Richburg was not capable of rehabilitation.

Richburg, speaking for himself at the hearing, continued to describe the shooting through the lens of the danger he said he perceived that day. He said he carried a gun for protection and maintained that he had feared for his life during the confrontation. He acknowledged making mistakes and expressed sympathy for Womack’s family, but also questioned what would have happened to him if he had not been armed. His lawyer, Avrohom Greenfield, likewise maintained that Richburg believed he was acting in self-defense. The sentencing court was considering punishment, however, after jurors had already rejected that defense by finding Richburg guilty of murder.

The confrontation began about 1 p.m. Nov. 30, 2024, near Eutaw and Redwood streets, according to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. Womack was preparing to leave an MTA bus when he dropped a bottle of Gatorade. As he reached for it, prosecutors said, he bumped Richburg. The two men exchanged words, and Womack initially stepped off the bus. Evidence later presented in court showed that Richburg objected to Womack not saying “excuse me” or otherwise apologizing for the contact. What could have remained a brief dispute between strangers instead escalated within moments.

Prosecutors said Richburg called after Womack and threatened him after he had stepped off the vehicle. Womack then returned to the bus and asked Richburg what he had said. According to the state’s account, Richburg repeated the threat, produced a handgun from his pants and moved toward Womack. He fired once from only a few feet away. The bullet struck Womack in the chest. Both men left the bus after the gunfire, but Womack soon collapsed. Emergency responders took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The encounter was recorded by surveillance cameras inside the bus, giving investigators and eventually jurors a visual record of the confrontation. Prosecutors relied heavily on that footage at trial. During closing arguments, they told jurors that the recording showed Womack bending down to retrieve the bottle, the accidental contact and the argument that followed. The state emphasized that Womack was unarmed and said the video undercut the claim that deadly force was required. Prosecutors characterized the gunshot as being fired from near-point-blank range after Richburg had already threatened to kill Womack.

The defense asked jurors to view the same episode differently. Greenfield argued that Womack’s contact with Richburg amounted to a battery and said Womack continued to confront, bother and threaten his client. Richburg took the witness stand during the trial and told jurors that Womack had been acting angry and erratic. He testified that after being bumped, he told Womack, “Brother, you could say ‘excuse me?’” The defense argued that Richburg’s later threatening words were intended to warn Womack away and that Richburg believed Womack was approaching to harm him. Jurors did not accept that explanation as a legal justification for the shooting.

The jury’s verdict in August 2025 resolved the central dispute over criminal responsibility. Richburg was convicted of second-degree murder rather than the first-degree murder charge jurors had also considered. He was additionally convicted of using a firearm during a crime of violence and possessing a firearm when he was legally prohibited from having one. The gun-possession count reflected a significant part of the prosecution’s case because Richburg had an earlier felony record. Local court reporting said he had previously been convicted of robbery and firearms offenses, while the prosecutor described a broader criminal history when requesting the maximum sentence.

Police had identified Richburg through a combination of public surveillance evidence and transit records. After the shooting, investigators preserved video from the MTA bus and released a still image of the suspected gunman while seeking help identifying him. Detectives then obtained records connected to the transit pass used by the suspect to board the bus. The records showed that the same pass had been used on other days. Investigators obtained footage from those uses and saw a man resembling Richburg boarding with the pass, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. The evidence gave detectives a path from an unidentified image to a named suspect.

Richburg was arrested Dec. 9, 2024, nine days after the shooting. Baltimore police found him aboard another MTA bus in the 1600 block of North Fulton Avenue and took him into custody without incident. Police Commissioner Richard Worley highlighted the circumstance at the time, noting that a suspect sought in a killing aboard a transit bus had himself been apprehended while riding one. The arrest ended the initial search but began a longer court process in which prosecutors and defense attorneys would sharply disagree about how jurors should interpret the confrontation captured by the bus cameras.

By sentencing, the central facts no longer rested on an unresolved murder allegation. A jury had heard Richburg testify, watched the surveillance recording and considered the defense’s contention that he acted out of fear. Its verdict established his criminal liability for second-degree murder and the firearm offenses. The remaining question for McBride was the length of punishment. Prosecutors argued that the seriousness of the shooting, Richburg’s prior convictions and his unlawful possession of a gun called for the maximum available term. The defense continued to emphasize Richburg’s view that the encounter placed him in danger and disputed the prosecution’s portrayal of him.

Johnson told reporters after the sentencing that she did not believe Richburg showed genuine remorse. She contrasted his comments in court with the permanent absence her family now faces. Her statements shifted attention from the few seconds captured on the bus video to the consequences that followed: two children without their father and a family that had spent months attending court proceedings over a killing that began with an ordinary encounter between passengers. Family members said Womack knew that he was loved and supported, a point Johnson repeated as she reflected on what the 70-year sentence could and could not accomplish.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates said the sentence delivered accountability for Womack’s killing and praised Weinberg and the Baltimore Police Department homicide team for their work on the case. With the jury verdict and 70-year sentence now imposed, Richburg remains convicted of second-degree murder and the two firearm offenses. The sentencing closes the trial-level phase that began with his December 2024 arrest, while leaving in place a prison term only five years below the maximum prosecutors requested.

Author note: Last updated August 21, 2026.