Antonio Lamont Mayes, a 26-year-old Black man, was fatally shot shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2013, in the 1000 block of Valley Street in Baltimore. Officers found Mayes with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

For years the homicide remained unsolved. In August 2023 an arrest was made when 34-year-old Brandon Brown was charged with first-degree murder after witnesses came forward. The ensuing trial, which began in February 2024, depended heavily on two prosecution witnesses: a friend who had been with Mayes the night he was killed and a former cellmate who said Brown confessed while incarcerated. Prosecutors said the witnesses knew details only someone with direct knowledge could know.

The defense attacked the witnesses’ credibility, noting serious prior convictions and arguing they could have fabricated testimony. Defense attorneys also pointed to DNA finding Brown as one of four people whose DNA was on a bicycle at the scene, saying there was little other physical evidence directly linking him to the killing. Does anyone have information about Antonio Mayes, where he spent his time that night, or observations from the 1000 block of Valley Street around September 8, 2013?