Background: A section of Rosalind Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland (Google Maps). Inset: Latrina Ashburne (GoFundMe).
A woman in Maryland was getting into her car when suddenly a man shot her dead in an attempt to silence a witness in a federal case — but she wasn”t the intended target, authorities say.
Matthew Hightower, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher to 40 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, “for using a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced.
Hightower pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this year after authorities say he “plott[ed] the murder of woman, in a case of mistaken identity where the intended target was a federal witness.” The plot resulted in the death of 41-year-old Latrina Ashburne.
The judge ordered Hightower’s sentence to run concurrently with the prison term he is currently serving — which began in November 2016 and was set to run over 31 years after the defendant was convicted of collection of a debt by extortionate means and use of interstate facilities for extortion resulting in death in connection with the death of David Wutoh.
On May 27, 2016, Ashburne was entering her car outside her home on Rosalind Avenue in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. At the same time, a man approached.
That month, Hightower had allegedly been conspiring to kill Ashburne’s neighbor, who was a federal witness, “in retaliation for providing information to a law enforcement officer and to prevent her from testifying against him,” federal prosecutors said. That case involved the death of Wutoh and a healthcare fraud scheme in which Hightower was reportedly involved.
Ashburne lived next door to the federal witness “and was similar in age and appearance,” authorities said. As she got into her car, she apparently saw the man approaching and “tried to run.”
The man — identified as 46-year-old Davon Carter — shot her in the upper body and ran from the scene. He reportedly had an accomplice, 49-year-old Clifton Mosley.
After the shooting, Ashburne’s neighbor — the intended target — “contacted law enforcement to report the murder and that she believed she was the intended target,” prosecutors said. Investigators determined that Mosley’s phone was in the area at the time of the shooting and “in contact with Carter’s phone.”
Vehicles owned by the mother of Carter’s girlfriend and by Hightower were seen on surveillance video “driving slowly through the area as if the driver were looking for someone,” authorities said, noting that prosecutors indicated at trial that Carter and Mosley each drove a vehicle.
According to the attorney’s office, Carter and Mosley were ultimately each sentenced to four life terms in federal prison after being convicted of charges including two counts of conspiracy to murder a witness and one count each of witness retaliation murder and witness tampering murder.
Authorities maintained that after Hightower was charged in connection with the murder of Wutoh and the fraud scheme, he was in “frequent and regular contact” with Carter and Mosley.
Hightower apologized in court, saying he was sorry for ruining two families, Ashburne’s and his own, local NBC affiliate WBAL reported.
