State murder charges were dropped Tuesday against Patrick Byers Jr., who was charged with killing a 30-year-old man in Southeast Baltimore, then ordering the murder of a witness to the crime.
Baltimore City prosecutors dropped the charges because Byers has been indicted federally on charges of murdering Carl Lackl ? a witness to the killing of Larry Haynes, 30 ? and viewed state prosecution of Haynes? homicide to be an unwise use of resources, said Joseph Sviatko, spokesman for the Baltimore City State?s Attorney?s Office.
Prosecutors initially said they planned to use Lackl?s testimony “from the grave” in the trial of Haynes? slaying, under a new state witness intimidation law, but changed their minds after the federal prosecutors charged Byers in February with Lackl?s murder.
“Unfortunately, this case is now dismissed, and the federal government does not have jurisdiction for this case,” Sviatko said of Haynes? March 4, 2006, death. “But to maximize prosecution and determine the best possible sentence, we decided [the federal indictment] was the best course to take.”
Byers, 22; Frank Goodman, 22; Steven “L-Trigger” Thompson, 26; and Michael “L-Killa” Randle, 19, all of Baltimore, were charged federally with murdering Lackl, a witness scheduled to testify against Byers in the Haynes homicide.
On July 2, the men obtained a loaded .44-caliber Magnum handgun and went to Lackl?s home, where a co-conspirator, Johnathan Cornish, 15, used the gun to shoot Lackl three times, killing him, authorities said.
Conspiracy members received a total of $2,500 as payment for the slaying, prosecutors said.
