Violent Westport Drug Dealer Convicted of Murdering a Federal Witness
Defendant Obtained FBI Report Containing the Murder Victim’s Statements from a Criminal Defense Attorney; Also Murdered a Crack Dealer and Shot a Drug Customer Who Was a Police Informant

BALTIMORE—A federal jury convicted Antonio Hall, a/k/a “Mack,” age 31, of Baltimore, of murdering federal witness Kareem Kelly Guest on September 20, 2009. Hall was also convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine; conspiring to use a gun during a drug trafficking crime; using a gun during the murder of Mr. Guest; and being a felon in possession of ammunition.

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III.

“This case tragically demonstrates what can happen when information about witnesses in criminal cases is not protected,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “We will continue to use every available resource to pursue criminals who attack or intimidate witnesses.”

“Law enforcement agencies rely on information from private citizens to help protect the public at large,” stated Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “The conviction today reinforces the need to bring justice to those that attempt to, in this case, silence individuals who have stepped forward to provide information about criminal wrongdoing.”

According to testimony at the two week trial, from at least 2004 to 2010, Hall sold cocaine base on the streets of Westport. Witnesses testified that Hall used a 9mm pistol on February 10, 2004 in the 2400 block of Huron Avenue in the Westport area of Baltimore to shoot one of his drug customers in retaliation for the customer having provided information to the police about an individual who was under investigation for a shooting. On March 21, 2009 at 2635 Maisel Street in Westport, Hall and another individual shot a crack dealer, Martie Williams, eight times with a .40 caliber handgun and a .32 caliber handgun, resulting in the death of Williams.

Trial testimony further showed that Hall killed Guest in retaliation for Guest providing information to the Baltimore City Police Department and the FBI about drug trafficking and firearms violations in Westport. The substance of the FBI’s January 9, 2008 interview of Kareem Guest was detailed in a nine page FBI report that was disclosed to a defense attorney with the attorney’s promise that it would not be further distributed. According to the evidence presented at trial, during the summer of 2009, individuals in Westport obtained copies of the FBI interview reports of Kareem Guest and several other individuals, which were then distributed and displayed throughout the Westport community. On September 20, 2009 at approximately 10:00 p.m., Hall used a 9mm handgun to shoot and kill Kareem Guest on a walkway near the 2400 block of Maisel Court in Westport. Mr. Guest suffered numerous gunshot wounds to the head and body.

Hall faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on each count that he is convicted. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled sentencing for November 16, 2011, at 3:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys John F. Purcell and Clinton J. Fuchs, who are prosecuting the case.