The sentence exceeded state guidelines after a judge cited the planning and extraordinary violence surrounding the 2024 attempted robbery.

TOWSON, Md. — A Maryland teenager who shot a youth soccer coach during an attempted robbery in a quiet Baltimore County neighborhood has been ordered to serve 25 years in prison, nearly two years after the attack left the victim critically injured and altered daily life for his family and community.

Kai Wilson, now 17, received a 40-year sentence with all but 25 years suspended in Baltimore County Circuit Court. Circuit Judge Robert Cahill Jr. imposed the punishment for attempted second-degree murder and use of a handgun during a violent crime. The term was substantially above sentencing guidelines that called for eight to 15 years. Cahill said the circumstances surrounding the Sept. 13, 2024, shooting of Mark McKenzie were among the most severe he had encountered. Wilson also faces five years of supervised probation after his release.

The sentence brought the criminal case against the gunman to a major turning point after prosecutors described a robbery that quickly became life-threatening. McKenzie, a longtime youth sports coach, had been unloading soccer equipment from his vehicle in an alley behind his home on Dunkirk Road in Rodgers Forge when Wilson approached wearing a mask. Evidence presented in court showed Wilson had a semiautomatic handgun equipped with a laser sight. Prosecutors said he demanded money, struck McKenzie with the weapon and shot him during a struggle.

The bullet caused extensive injuries to McKenzie’s liver and gallbladder and began a medical recovery that has continued well beyond his initial hospitalization. Local reports said McKenzie spent 12 days on life support, 38 days in an intensive care unit and 47 days in the hospital overall. He told the court that he had undergone five surgeries and about 20 additional procedures. He also said his medical bills had exceeded $500,000 and that another surgery was expected later in 2026, followed by another lengthy recovery period.

McKenzie addressed Wilson directly at sentencing, focusing not only on his own injuries but on the effect of the shooting on people around him. He told the teenager, “You didn’t just attack a man. You attacked an entire community.” Prosecutors said the shooting occurred as McKenzie was preparing for another youth sports event. He had coached children in the area for years, and his absence after the shooting was immediately noticed. Neighbors later organized a community walk, while supporters raised money to help his family during his hospitalization and recovery.

Prosecutors asked Cahill for the maximum punishment permitted under the plea arrangement. Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Darnbrough characterized the case as an unusually serious act of violence and pointed to evidence of preparation before and conduct after the shooting. Surveillance cameras recorded parts of the crime and the escape. Prosecutors said Wilson was later seen laughing on video and that the stolen getaway vehicle was scrubbed with bleach. Cahill cited planning surrounding the robbery when explaining why he believed a sentence above the normal guidelines was warranted.

The getaway vehicle was driven by Wilson’s codefendant, Kamar Thompson, who was 16 when the shooting occurred. Thompson and Wilson were arrested in October 2024 and charged as adults. Both eventually entered Alford pleas, a form of guilty plea in which defendants do not admit the prosecution’s factual account but acknowledge the state has enough evidence to obtain a conviction. Thompson was separately sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the attempted robbery and escape.

The case had accumulated extensive video evidence before the pleas ended the prospect of a jury trial. Surveillance cameras in Rodgers Forge captured the attack and a vehicle leaving the neighborhood. Investigators also obtained video connected to a white Kia Sportage that police said had been stolen. Other footage showed efforts to clean the vehicle. Prosecutors also presented evidence involving a handgun and clothing they said connected the teenagers to the investigation. The strength of that record became a central factor when both defendants chose Alford pleas shortly before trial.

Darnbrough also urged the court to consider Wilson’s juvenile record. Prosecutors said Wilson had been convicted of malicious destruction of property in the juvenile system in 2023 and that his probation ended less than a month before McKenzie was shot. They also alleged Wilson participated in a robbery on a Maryland Transit Administration bus around the same period. At sentencing, the prosecution argued that previous attempts at intervention had failed to prevent increasingly serious conduct and that the Rodgers Forge shooting required a significant prison term.

Wilson’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Donna D’Alessio, asked the judge to view the teenager’s conduct alongside a childhood she described as marked by homelessness, food insecurity, mental health problems and repeated exposure to gun violence. She said Wilson had been homeless at age 9 and had been shot at seven times between the ages of 11 and 15. D’Alessio argued that those experiences impaired his development and judgment. She did not minimize McKenzie’s injuries but said Wilson should not be defined solely by what he did at age 15.

The defense also described signs of progress during Wilson’s incarceration. D’Alessio said he had worked toward finishing high school and demonstrated what she called genuine rehabilitation. She told the court that Wilson had become a different person and argued that he was capable of change. Wilson did not address Cahill during the hearing. The judge ultimately rejected the defense request for a sentence within the eight-to-15-year guideline range, concluding that the severity and preparation involved in the crime justified the longer punishment.

For McKenzie, the hearing did not erase what happened or provide a simple definition of justice. Outside court, he expressed gratitude to prosecutors, police, doctors, relatives and neighbors while acknowledging that the sentencing affected more than one family. He said he hoped the teenagers received rehabilitation and that everyone touched by the case could eventually move forward. His comments reflected the complicated end of a prosecution in which the victim survived but continued living with pain, treatment and the consequences of injuries suffered during an ordinary task behind his home.

For now, Wilson will serve 25 years of the 40-year sentence unless later legal action changes the judgment, followed by five years of supervised probation under the sentence imposed by Cahill. Thompson has also received a 25-year prison term. McKenzie, meanwhile, continues medical treatment and has said he expects another operation. The sentencing closes a major stage of the criminal prosecution, but the physical effects of the September 2024 shooting remain part of McKenzie’s life nearly two years later.

Author note: Last updated August 21, 2026.