Teen Sentenced to 40 Years for fatal 2023 Fourth of July Shooting in Salisbury

SALISBURY, Md. — A 17-year-old from Salisbury has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in a deadly gang-related shooting during a Fourth of July celebration in 2023 that left one man dead and seven others injured.

J’Shawn Drayton was sentenced Friday in Wicomico County Circuit Court to life in prison with all but 40 years suspended, along with a concurrent 10-year sentence for the use of a firearm in a crime of violence. Upon release, Drayton will be placed on five years of supervised probation.

Drayton pleaded guilty in March to first-degree murder and the firearm charge. He had been held in custody pending sentencing.

According to prosecutors, the shooting occurred shortly after midnight on July 5, 2023, as a neighborhood party was underway near Chippewa Boulevard and Kiowa Avenue in Salisbury. Drayton and a co-defendant, both armed, approached the area in connection to an ongoing gang conflict. When they encountered 19-year-old Xavier Maddox, believed to be a rival gang member, gunfire erupted. Maddox was fatally shot, and seven others suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds in the ensuing chaos.

Three other co-defendants have been convicted in connection with the shooting and are awaiting sentencing.

Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Dykes called the case an example of escalating youth violence fueled by gang activity.

“Violent gang activity, primarily involving young men in their teens and twenties, continues to escalate in Wicomico County,” Dykes said in a statement. “My Office and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate this lawless behavior and will continue to work tirelessly to hold the perpetrators to account.”

Dykes commended the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, the Salisbury Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their investigation. She also praised lead investigator Detective Kirkpatrick and Deputy State’s Attorney D. Scott Messersmith for their roles in the prosecution.

Drayton was 15 years old at the time of the shooting but was charged and sentenced as an adult.