BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore man pleaded guilty Monday to a charge stemming from a 2016 murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of a woman mistaken for her neighbor, a federal witness. Matthew Hightower, 43, faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
Hightower admitted to using a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime that resulted in the death of Latrina Ashburne on May 27, 2016. According to his plea agreement, Hightower solicited others and conspired to kill Ashburne’s next-door neighbor, a female federal witness. The target was providing information to law enforcement and was set to testify against Hightower in an official proceeding.
Authorities said Hightower learned the federal witness had provided information about his involvement in a healthcare fraud scheme and the murder of David Wutoh. At the time, Hightower was under federal indictment for both matters. While incarcerated pre-trial, he used jail calls and letters to communicate with others to orchestrate the plot against the witness.
Latrina Ashburne, who was similar in age and appearance to the federal witness, was shot and killed as she entered her car outside her home.
The shooter, Davon Carter, and an accomplice, Clifton Mosley, were previously tried and convicted for their roles in Ashburne’s murder.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes announced the guilty plea alongside officials from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).
Pursuant to the plea agreement, if the court accepts it, the government will recommend a sentence of 60 years in prison for Hightower. This sentence would run consecutively to the sentence he is currently serving for Wutoh’s murder.
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