Semaj Ames Sentenced to 25 Years in Salisbury Shooting
Wicomico County, MD - A Salisbury man will spend the next twenty-five years in prison for a shooting that left a bystander hurt last summer. Circuit Court Judge S. James Sarbanes handed down the sentence on August 7, 2026.
Semaj Ames, 20, of Salisbury, Maryland, received fifty years, with all but twenty-five years suspended. He will serve three years of supervised probation once he is released.
Ames pleaded guilty back on May 29, 2026 to attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, and use of a firearm in a crime of violence.
The case goes back to the evening of July 20, 2025. Ames got into a conflict with his girlfriend and the father of her child.
Ames and his girlfriend drove to a home on Mohawk Avenue and fired eight shots at the house. No one was hit, but the home was damaged, and the two drove off.
About an hour later, a related conflict brought Ames back out. His girlfriend drove him to East Lincoln Avenue, where his child's mother lives, and a verbal argument broke out in the street.
The argument escalated fast. Ames pulled his gun out for the second time that night and fired, missing his intended target but striking a woman who was standing nearby.
Police and EMS responded and the woman was taken to Tidal Health for treatment. Ames ran from the scene and got family members to help hide evidence and drive him to Baltimore, Maryland.
Ames then fled to Georgia, where he was eventually found and extradited back to Maryland to face the charges.
State's Attorney Jamie L. Dykes said, "Gun violence does not end after the trigger is pulled. It destroys the lives of victims and their families and leaves a trail of community destruction in its wake. My Office remains steadfast in its commitment to hold those who perpetrate acts of gun violence fully accountable under the law."
Dykes thanked the Salisbury Police Department and the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office for their work on the case, specifically crediting Detective D. Fairman of SPD and Detective T. Gilmore of WCSO. Dykes also credited Assistant State's Attorney Alexandra Stamnas for prosecuting the case.
