After two full days of deliberation, a federal jury found three men guilty Thursday of multiple murders and of running a lengthy drug conspiracy known as "Special" in Northeast Baltimore.
A second phase of the trial will begin Tuesday to determine whether two of the men -Melvin Gilbert, 34, and James Dinkins, 37 - should be put to death. A third defendant, Darron Goods, 24, faces a maximum of life in prison.
All three men were found guilty of drug conspiracy, selling heroin, cocaine, crack and marijuana. In addition:
* Goods and Gilbert were convicted of murdering witness John Dowery, who was gunned down at the Kozy Korner Bar on Thanksgiving Day in 2006.
* Dinkins and Gilbert were convicted of murdering Shannon Jemmison, who they thought was a law enforcement informant.
* Dinkins was found guilty of killing an associate, Michael Bryant.
* Gilbert was acquitted of one gun charge.
The trial was the third witness-murder trial held in Baltimore U.S. District Court this year, and the second where the death penalty is a consideration.
In April, a 61-year-old woman was sentenced to 33 years for killing an elderly man to prevent him from telling law enforcement about her many financial scams.
And last month, Patrick Albert Byers Jr.'s life was spared when jurors chose not to sentence him to death for the murder of a Baltimore County man, Carl Stanley Lackl.
Witness intimidation is a rampant problem in Baltimore City, where criminals routinely terrorize cooperators, whom they call "snitches." Gilbert's hatred for such informants led him to order Jemmison's murder, according to prosecutors. In a taped telephone conversation played in the courtroom, Gilbert called "rats" selfish and bemoaned how you can get "20 years for blasting one" and "five years" for telling a snitch not to do something.
The jury had asked three clarification questions Thursday afternoon, and all parties reassembled before the judge to work out the answer, then read it to the jury. As members were leaving to go back to their deliberation room, they said they might have other questions.
About 20 minutes passed before a knock came on the door. At 4:55 p.m., the jury announced that it had a verdict. There was no time to notify the families of the defendants or victims.
