Details about the prosecution of those others are expected to emerge during opening statements today.
The U.S. attorney's office would verify only public facts, and neither Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger nor Byers' or Goodman's attorneys would comment. Randle's lawyer did not return a call requesting comment, and Thompson's would say only that his client had "an extremely limited role in this."
Much about the case has been shrouded. Jury selection was closed to the public to ensure potential jurors were comfortable in answering questions honestly, particularly those about racial bias and the death penalty.
And jurors' identities are being kept secret even from the attorneys because the court determined that "releasing this information may jeopardize the jurors' safety," U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett wrote.
Lackl's mother, Marge Shipley, said her son was never properly warned of the dangers he faced as a witness in Baltimore.
"My son was not streetwise," Shipley said. "He didn't know to be scared."
On March 4, 2006, Lackl and a co-worker were on their lunch breaks, near an East Baltimore alley, when they heard gunshots that were later associated with a murder, according to court documents. Lackl told police that he saw a man toss a gun as he ran from the alley. He identified the man as Byers, and his information led investigators to recover the gun.
Byers, who maintained his innocence in that killing, was arrested March 20, 2006. He was charged with first-degree murder and ordered held without bond in the Baltimore City Detention Center while awaiting trial. At the time, he was 20 and had been acquitted of murder once before.
Federal prosecutors allege that:
* Byers obtained a mobile phone while in jail and used it to contact his friend Goodman, who became his liaison on the outside.
* Goodman approached Bloods member Marcus Pearson and offered him $2,500 to kill Lackl. Pearson accepted, and called fellow gang member Steve Thompson, who recommended Johnathan Cornish, then 15, as the shooter.
* Cornish blabbed about the plan to a buddy, Bloods member Michael Randle, who asked to come along.
* On July 2, 2007, Pearson (driven in a separate car by his girlfriend Tammy Graham) led Cornish and Randle (in a green Camaro driven by Ronald Williams) to Lackl's house. They drove by once, then the Camaro doubled back.
And Lackl leaned in.
