Four men accused of orchestrating the murder-for-hire of a witness from Baltimore County face federal charges that could bring the death penalty, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday.
Investigators used cell phone records to establish a direct link between the inmate suspected of ordering the killing, Patrick Albert Byers Jr., and the Bloods gang members who expected to receive up to $2,500 to carry it out, court papers and sources close to the investigation said.
One of the suspected junior gangsters, a 15-year-old nicknamed "Brazy," received $100 for gunning down Carl Stanley Lackl in July, according to sources who declined to be named because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
At a news conference yesterday in Baltimore, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, whose office took over the investigation at the request of county prosecutors, said the indictment should send a "crystal clear" message that those who kill or intimidate witnesses will face severe punishment. The state's top federal prosecutor declined to comment on the role of the Bloods.
State and federal authorities say Lackl's killing was ordered to stop him from testifying against Byers at a Baltimore murder trial. The original murder case against Byers is pending, according to Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy.
Lackl's relatives said they were pleased that federal prosecutors were handling the case.
"We're just glad that it looks like things are coming together and justice is going to be served," said his sister, Kim Underwood.
Lackl's mother, Marge Shipley, said she was sure that federal prosecutors "will be able to do their best," but that she did not want to speak more for fear of jeopardizing the trial.
The federal indictment unsealed yesterday named four defendants: Byers; Frank Keith Goodman, 22; Steven Thompson, also known as "L-Tigga" and "Trigger"; and Michael Jerome Randle, aka "L-Killa." Federal prosecutors declined to say why the other defendants who still face state charges were not included.
Federal charges against the four include conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and gun- related crimes. If convicted of the most serious charges, they face a minimum of life in prison without parole and a maximum penalty of death.
The investigation was started by Baltimore County police and prosecutors who brought the original charges after the killing last year. In recent months, they received assistance from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The federal prosecution team is led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John F. Purcell Jr. and Michael Hanlon.
It was chance that caused Lackl to stumble upon a shooting in a city alley on March 4, 2006, according to Baltimore prosecutors.
Lackl had stopped in an East Baltimore alley on his lunch break when he saw a man shoot another and then hide a gun, according to court documents and Lackl's family. Lackl later identified Byers as the shooter of Larry Haynes, 30, according to the documents.
Margaret Mead, a defense attorney who represents Byers, said her client denies any involvement in Lackl's death.
It was unclear how Byers might have learned about Lackl's role in the case. But according to the original account by county police, Byers sent a text message calling for Lackl's murder to a BlackBerry in the possession of Goodman, described in county court documents as a friend who had visited Byers in jail more than 20 times.
Sources familiar with the federal investigation say text messages will not be featured as part of the government's case. Part of the problem, they said, is that the phone company rarely keeps such messages more than 30 days.
Instead, the indictment unsealed yesterday focused on the repeated cell phone calls among the defendants. Federal investigators also used cell tower hits to pinpoint where a mobile phone was used and show that Byers made calls setting up the murder from jail in Baltimore, according to sources.
According to court documents and sources close to the investigation, Goodman enlisted Marcus Antwan Pearson, 26, a Bloods gang member. Pearson, who was charged in Baltimore County, was not named in yesterday's federal indictment.
Pearson then contracted with gang members, including Michael Jerome Randle, 19, Steven "Trigger" Thompson, 26, and Johnathan Ryan Cornish, who was 15 at the time, to kill Lackl. Cornish was not named in yesterday's federal indictment.
Known as "original young gangsters," they were members of a faction of the Bloods gang known as the Pasadena Denver Lanes, named for a street in Los Angeles, according to sources.
The federal indictment describes a group of gang members meeting July 2 in the 1600 block of Normal Ave. in East Baltimore before picking up Randle near Pulaski and Penrose streets.
They had with them a loaded Colt Anaconda .44-caliber Magnum handgun, court papers said.
That day, Pearson called Lackl, 38, from two phones, according to court documents and sources.
Police said Lackl received several phone calls about the beige Cadillac he was selling for $1,800. About 8:45 p.m., a caller told Lackl, who was standing outside with two little girls, that he couldn't find his home in the 8000 block of Philadelphia Road and that he should walk out toward the street, police said.
According to court documents, Williams drove up in a green 1994 Chevrolet Camaro and Cornish shot Lackl three times as he approached.
According to the documents, Pearson and his girlfriend Tammy Sherie Graham, 24, sat in a car in a parking lot across the street and watched as police and paramedics arrived. Graham, who faces state charges, was not named in yesterday's indictment.
matthew.dolan@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Julie Scharper contributed to this article.
The Lackl file
March 4, 2006: Carl Stanley Lackl sees a man shoot Larry Haynes in East Baltimore and later identifies the alleged gunman as Patrick Albert Byers Jr., 22, who is charged with first-degree murder.
July 2, 2007: Lackl is shot to death outside his home in Rosedale.
July 10, 2007: Byers' murder trial is postponed as police investigate a possible link between the case and Lackl's death.
July 13, 2007: Police charge 15-year-old Johnathan Ryan Cornish and Ronald Wendell Williams, 21, in Lackl's killing.
Sept. 8, 2007: Prosecutors say Lackl was killed to prevent him from testifying at Byers' murder trial.
Feb. 6, 2008: Four men, including two men not previously named, are indicted by the U.S. attorney's office in the murder-for-hire plot. Federal prosecutors say they might seek the death penalty.