A 23-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole yesterday for the 1995 murders of a prosecution witness and a bystander.

U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg imposed the sentence in Baltimore on Haywood Carmichael for the killings in the 800 block of N. Streeper St. in East Baltimore of Benjamin Paige, 28, a key witness in a murder case, and his cousin, Yolanda Evans, 18. Paige had been scheduled to be a witness against Donald Lee Ferebe, charged with murder in the killing of Richard Thomas Jr.

Carmichael, a partner of Ferebe in a drug ring, and William Thorne approached Paige on the street in August 1995, federal prosecutors said. Paige was shot 14 times and pronounced dead at the scene. Evans, who got in the line of fire, was struck by bullets twice and died at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Thorne pleaded guilty to the murders of Paige and Evans in Baltimore Circuit Court, as did Shawnta Graham, who drove the getaway car, prosecutors said. Both await sentencing.

Ferebe was convicted of killing Thomas two years ago in federal court and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1994 murder. Ferebe has appealed that conviction.

Pub Date: 3/11/99