“Life Sentence for Man Who Gunned Down Nigerian-American Boxing Talent in Odenton”

A Maryland court has sentenced 37-year-old Nicholas Giroux to life imprisonment plus an additional 20 years for the killing of Nigerian-American boxer, Isaiah Olugbemi, in Anne Arundel County.

The sentence, handed down on Friday by Judge Richard Trunnell of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, followed Giroux’s guilty plea to first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a violent crime. The terms are to run consecutively in the Division of Corrections.

Olugbemi, 27, a promising amateur boxer and father, was fatally shot on June 17, 2024, in Odenton. According to police, Giroux approached him, fired multiple rounds until he fell, and then shot him three more times before fleeing. The victim later died from his injuries at R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Investigators revealed that Giroux had a prior confrontation with Olugbemi and a neighbor during a cookout two weeks before the killing, where he displayed a handgun. After the murder, he confessed during questioning and directed authorities to the firearm used.

State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess condemned the crime as “cruel and senseless,” stressing that Olugbemi’s life and career were cut short by the defendant’s actions. “The callousness and lack of remorse on the part of this defendant is deeply disturbing. He deserves this sentence. To the family and friends of Mr. Olugbemi, I hope today brings some measure of justice for this terrible ordeal,” she said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Carolynn Grammas, with homicide detectives from the Anne Arundel County Police Department leading the investigation.