By Mike Hellgren
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — The man accused of killing a 12-year-old girl at a West Baltimore youth football game got out of prison early after an official with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) advocated for his release.
State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said Tyree Reynolds would likely not have been released early without the MONSE official’s letter to a judge.
Just eight days after Reynolds’ release on September 25, police alleged he opened fire into a crowd, killing 12-year-old Khloe Ishway and injuring four other people.
The letter MONSE’s Chief of Victim Services Mark Mason wrote the letter on MONSE letterhead on August 8, 2025.
It was addressed to Judge Cynthia Jones and asked her to consider an early release for Reynolds, a person he had mentored since Reynolds was a child.
Reynolds was behind bars for a 2021 felony gun case stemming from a shootout at a West North Avenue chicken restaurant near his home.
“I would not be going out on a limb writing this letter on his behalf if I felt that he is a violent offender and his plan is to come back into society to engage in more violence,” Mason wrote.
MONSE’s Chief of Victim Services Mark Mason wrote the letter on MONSE letterhead on August 8th, 2025. Judge Jones originally sentenced Reynolds to 15 years with all but seven years suspended. He was required to serve at least five years before he could be paroled, which he ultimately did.
“Reynolds served the entirety of that five-year term, day for day, and was released on September 25, 2026,” Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services told WJZ.
A DPSCS spokesman said the agency was “heartbroken by the tragic death of 12-year-old Khloe Ishway and the injuries to innocent bystanders.”
Judge Jones cut the original sentence by two years, which State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said realistically amounted to an early release by 30 to 60 days with good behavior credits.
“Based on what MONSE has done and what MONSE had written in their letter, I’m sure it played a major and significant role in the judge changing the sentence,” Bates told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
Bates said the letter carried weight with the judge.
“It’s just not a letter from anybody. It’s a letter from the head of victim services who talks about the person’s background, talks about Mr. Reynolds’ upbringing, talks about how he’s remorseful,” he said.
Bates’ office did not oppose the early release in part because of the letter, he said.
Bates’ office did not oppose the early release in part because of the letter, he said. “When you are partners with MONSE, and they basically put their arms around this individual and say they are reformed and they know they have a job—they write the letter as if the first day that individual gets out, they’re going be there to take them, to give them a job, and there are no problems with this individual, you’re going go ahead and believe and support that,” Bates said.
The MONSE official promised Reynolds would get immediate help from the agency upon his release from prison.
Bates told Hellgren he is unsure if that ever happened.
“We were partners with MONSE and we left the partnership,” the state’s attorney said. “It was these types of things that we were beginning to see that caused us to have a great deal of concern.”
The mayor’s response On October 3, just eight days after Reynolds’ release, police said he opened fire at a football game with a short-barreled assault rifle.
A bullet struck and killed 12-year-old Khloe Ishway.
Police are still looking for a second gunman who fired shots at Reynolds.
In response to our questions about the controversy, MONSE told WJZ Investigates their official wrote the letter on Reynolds’ behalf “as a character statement, based on the staff member’s prior personal relationship with Mr. Reynolds, without the permission of MONSE’s Director or Chief of Staff. MONSE has no direct decision-making authority in determining detention release or sentence modification.”
The statement condemned Reynolds’ alleged actions as “heinous and reckless.”
Wednesday morning, before the MONSE letter surfaced, Mayor Brandon Scott condemned the repeat offender’s release.
“A 12-year-old baby should be here today not only because [Reynolds] should’ve known how to resolve his conflict in a better way, but also more importantly because he still should have been in jail,” Mayor Scott told WJZ.
Asked about the mayor’s comments, Bates told Hellgren, “Hindsight is 20/20. The mayor’s team was the one who wrote the letter, so that’s a question you probably need to ask the mayor.”
A spokesman for the mayor said he was not available to go on camera Thursday.
But his office issued the following statement to WJZ Investigates, “This letter was not approved by MONSE leadership, and no member of staff will ever be writing one again. Let’s be clear: there is one person responsible for the cowardly murder of Khloe Ishway: Mr. Reynolds. This was a cowardly, reckless decision made by him and him alone. We are committed to getting justice on behalf of Khloe, her family, and the entire community, and we will not rest until we eradicate violence from our city for good.”
Asked whether the MONSE official who wrote the letter could face disciplinary action, the mayor’s office said they cannot comment on personnel matters.
He is a former MONSE employee of the month.
Suspect pleaded for mercy In the 2021 case file is a handwritten letter Reynolds himself wrote to Judge Jones.
He said he “learned his lesson” and was ready to “better himself and start over.”
Now, at 23, he may end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
“I promise you Judge Jones, I won’t let you [down]. You can count on me,” Reynolds wrote.
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