Calvert County Circuit Court Judge Mark S. Chandlee has denied a motion to reduce sentence filed by convicted murderer, Anthony Gerald Fleming. In a 9-page opinion and order, Judge Chandlee found that Fleming continues to pose a danger to the public and that a reduction in sentence would not serve the interests of justice.
Fleming was convicted in 1997 of the murder of Linda Pellicano and sentenced to life imprisonment. On May 13, 1991, Ms. Pellicano was found deceased in her home on Dalrymple Road in Chesapeake Beach. She was bound and gagged and raped. She had also sustained a stab wound to the chest.
Fleming was identified as the perpetrator through DNA evidence.
Although Fleming has been incarcerated for nearly 30 years, he has hardly been a model prisoner. Between 1992 and 2021, Fleming committed 24 violations of prison rules. In 2011, he sent a letter to a Calvert County resident threatening to kill him and his children. For this infraction, Fleming was segregated from the general prison population for 300 days.
Fleming was permitted to file for a sentence reduction under Maryland’s “Second Look Act,” which was enacted by the legislature in 2021. Although the Court was required under the statute to conduct a hearing and review Fleming’s sentence, it was in fact the 16th time Fleming had asked the Court to do so.
Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey stated: “There has to be some finality in sentencing. Life has to mean life. Each time a case is reopened, it further traumatizes the victim’s family, friends, and the community in general.”
In this case, the victim’s sister-in-law and son submitted letters to the Court opposing the motion for reduction in sentence.