WASHINGTON — A teenager who pleaded guilty to trying to kill a middle school student while on a Prince George's County school bus last year was given the maximum sentence possible Friday afternoon.
Kaden Holland, also known as "Baby K," was only 15 years old when he put a gun to a middle school student's head while aboard a school bus on May 1, 2023. While he pulled the trigger three times, prosecutors say the gun misfired and saved the student's life.
The now 17-year-old Holland was given a 60-year sentence, with all but 25 years suspended, for the attempted first-degree murder charge he pleaded guilty to. Holland also pleaded guilty to use of a gun in commission of a felony, and was sentenced to 20 years on that charge, but the sentence is to be served concurrently.
He will serve the sentence in a “youth offender” for young adults program at Patuxent Institution in Maryland.
“It was appropriate in this case because of the planning, the deliberation, the execution of what he wanted — which was to murder a child," Prince George's County State's Attorney, Aisha Braveboy said.
Holland's attorney argued for a lesser sentence, citing the teen's numerous juvenile crime risk factors, such as low IQ, damaging family situations, drug issues and being a victim of violence himself. The judge disagreed and gave him the max sentence. When deciding his sentence, the judge noted that Holland showed premeditation by planning the violent ambush of a fellow teen, and that despite his age and risk factors, the planning and violence could not be ignored. The judge said the sentencing needed to be severe.
Video of the attack shows Holland holding a gun to the victim's head and chest while his two accomplices hold the victim down. All three teens then beat the victim, and the video shows Holland trying to shoot the boy three times, and all three times his gun jammed.
“Our victims are still feeling the impact of the decision that Mr. holland made on May 1st, of 2023," Braveboy said.
The mother of the boy attacked said she moved her son across the country to keep him safe, but he still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The other two suspects were taken into custody shortly after the attack but Holland managed to evade arrest for weeks. He was eventually taken into custody on May 30, 2023.
Holland and the other two teens were indicted as adults in June 2023, and in March 2024 Holland accepted a plea deal on both the attempted murder and use of a gun charges.
“I hope that this sentence brings some measure of peace and some measure of closure to the victim’s as well as the community," Braveboy said. “It was clear that we had a mission today which was to hold him accountable and get justice for our community and our victims.”
After the sentencing hearing, Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said Holland had been in the juvenile system before, for a different gun charge, and yet did none of the requirements to complete the program. She said that was evidence the program isn't working.
"Bottom line is that [the Department of Juvenile Services] needs to be able to provide more services for a longer period of time," she said. "We can't just accept the fact that a child doesn't complete a program but is at the end of their probationary period. That is unacceptable for the child and the community."