Jury Re-Tries, Convicts Pulaski Street Murderer

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Anton Harris, 37, was sentenced to 40 years on Aug. 5 after a jury found him guilty of the second-degree murder of Keith Johnson, 43, and possession of an illegal firearm in a re-trial.

The Appellate Court of Maryland approved the retrial of Harris’ case on Dec. 16, 2024, almost two years after he received his original sentence for his involvement in the fatal May 4, 2022 incident. Harris contested the constitutionality of his previous verdict, noting one witness who testified against him suffered a stroke that caused memory loss.

Charging documents state officers responded at approximately 10:08 a.m. to a call regarding a shooting on the 500 Block of N. Pulaski Street. Upon arrival, they located victim Johnson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Johnson was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced deceased approximately five hours later.

A Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) officer patrolling near the West Baltimore MARC Train Station reportedly located Harris following a 911 call and pursued him on foot. Multiple witnesses claimed they saw him fleeing the scene. Baltimore Police and MTA officers eventually arrested Harris in a wooded area between the 2300 block of Loretta Avenue and the 2300 block of Franklin Street.

Area Ring home security camera footage captured Harris exiting a dark-colored car at the incident location, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, grey shirt and black pants. Shortly after, gunshots were heard. The crime scene consisted of a bottle, a hat, the victim’s bloody clothes and one cartridge casing located under a towel. The sweatshirt was later recovered turned inside out, and investigators located a gun and an extended magazine from near the parked vehicle Harris exited.

The gun was covered in Johnson’s blood. Its surface contained more DNA than skin cells, but no link was found to Harris’ DNA.

During the hearing, defense attorney Stephanie Salter argued the weapon could have belonged to Johnson.

Salter also said the responding MTA officer was located at least 50 feet from the suspect and lost sight of Harris for between five and six minutes. Furthermore, responders failed to secure a perimeter until 3:15 p.m., nearly five hours after the initial response.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia H. Jones presided over trial proceedings.