Davon Carter, Murder for Witness Retaliation, Maryland 2020

Baltimore, Maryland - In a shocking turn of events, a Baltimore man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a woman believed to be a witness in a federal case.

Davon Carter, 40, was sentenced to four life terms in federal prison for two counts of conspiracy to murder a witness and one count each of witness retaliation murder and witness tampering murder, related to the murder of Latrina Ashburne, 41, on May 27, 2016.

Carter was also convicted of a federal narcotics conspiracy charge, two counts of using a cellular telephone to facilitate the commission of a felony, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. A federal jury in Baltimore convicted Carter and co-defendant Clifton Mosley, 42, also of Baltimore, on January 29, 2020, after a three-week trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Acting Special Agent in Charge Rachel Byrd of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.

According to the evidence presented at their three-week trial, Carter and Mosley conspired to kill a witness who had provided information to law enforcement about a good friend of Carter's, Matthew Hightower. In June 2015, Hightower was charged federally in a health care fraud scheme. While on release in the health care fraud case, the federal grand jury began investigating crimes of violence for which Hightower was implicated, including the murder of David Wutoh.

The murder of Latrina Ashburne was a senseless act of violence that shocked the community. Ashburne was murdered in the early morning as she got into her car outside the home she shared with her mother in the 2900 block of Rosalind Avenue in Baltimore's Cylburn neighborhood. The police reported that an unknown male approached and shot Ashburne in the upper body.

The sentence of Carter serves as a reminder that witness tampering and retaliation will not be tolerated. While there is no sentence that can ease the pain of the family and friends of Latrina Ashburne for her senseless murder, I hope that they can take some comfort in the fact that Carter will never be free to walk the streets again.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/baltimore-career-offender-sentenced-life-prison-murdering-baltimore-woman-believed-be