Hoffman

When deputies arrived at a residence in the 4000 block of Old Swimming Pool Road, Maddox told them Ryan Preston Hoffman had lashed out at her for neglecting him.

"'Do I need to shoot at you to get you to pay attention to me?'" Angel quoted Hoffman as saying, according to a statement Maddox, 32, initially gave to police May 17, reading from court documents in Frederick County Circuit Court.

Deputies found a bullet lodged in a bedroom wall.

Hoffman, 25, of Braddock Heights, was set to go on trial Wednesday on charges including first-degree assault.

But Maddox later told authorities her testimony would be different than what she first told police.

"She would say he was cleaning (the gun) in another room when there was a shot fired," Angel said during a plea hearing Wednesday before Judge Julie Stevenson Solt.

Because Maddox would not cooperate with prosecutors, Angel negotiated a plea agreement with defense attorney William H. Poffenbarger that involved a lengthy suspended prison sentence, the maximum amount of supervised probation and numerous conditions Hoffman must obey.

On Wednesday, Hoffman pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.

Maddox asked Solt not to prohibit Hoffman from having contact with her. She wants to continue their relationship.

"This is part of the cycle of violence," Angel said after court Wednesday. "She recanted to protect the person she loves."

Solt sentenced Hoffman to 10 years in the Maryland Division of Correction, suspending all of it except the five days he served awaiting trial.

She placed him on five years of supervised probation, fined him $500 and $145 in court costs and ordered him against having harassing or abusive contact with Maddox.

Hoffman must undergo a mental health evaluation; drug and alcohol testing and treatment; and abstain from alcohol and drugs.

Hoffman is not allowed to have firearms during probation, and he must attend a 26-week Abusers Intervention Program at Heartly House.