A Baltimore man who admitted to fatally shooting a 16-year-old on the basketball court of a Southwest Baltimore recreation center more than two years ago in retaliation for a robbery was sentenced to 22 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
Justin Antoine, 24, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and to discharging a firearm resulting in the death of Jordan Deshields during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Antoine also admitted to being part of a shootout during which a bystander was shot. He faced up to 25 years in prison.
“This case exemplifies the danger to the people of Baltimore resulting from the illegal drug trade,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner said in a news release. “Justin Antoine and his co-conspirators brought the deadly combination of guns and drugs into their community. This sentence sends a strong message that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are working together to remove violent drug dealers like Antoine from our streets.”
According to Antoine’s plea agreement, from at least April 2018 to January 2019 he participated in a drug trafficking organization in Southwest Baltimore’s Edmondson Village. Antoine sold heroin and crack cocaine on a daily basis, according to the plea, on the street level.
On “several occasions” in early 2018, Antoine was robbed, with drugs, cash and a cellphone taken from him, according to the agreement.
Armed with a pistol, Antoine sought out Deshields at the Mary Rodham Recreation Center because he believed he was involved in the series of robberies. Antoine shot Deshields in the head twice, killing him, the plea agreement said.
Prosecutors said Antoine said it was an intentional killing related to his drug trafficking activities and that following the killing, he continued to distribute heroin and crack cocaine.
Months later, in November 2018, a friend of Deshields opened fire on Antoine, who fired back, striking a bystander, the agreement said.
Antoine also planned to rob an unlicensed taxi driver who he said refused to return a gun that he had left in the driver’s vehicle, according to a sentencing memo presented at Thursday’s sentencing hearing. During a wiretapped call, Antoine indicated he would murder the taxi driver if he didn’t cooperate, and in another call, he discussed illegally purchasing an assault rifle.
Antoine was arrested Jan. 10, 2019, as he was driving to work. Investigators seized a loaded firearm and heroin, prosecutors said, and he admitted that he possessed the heroin with the intent to distribute it.
Antoine and 16 others were charged in July 2019, and federal prosecutors have since brought additional cases centered on the Edmondson Village neighborhood and adjoining Allendale neighborhood.