30-year-old man receives life sentence for 2021 fatal shooting at Pigtown pizza shop
BALTIMORE -- A 30-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to life plus 85 years for his role in a 2021 fatal shooting at a pizza shop in Pigtown, the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office said.
Anthony Priester was convicted in July on eight counts, including first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, conspiracy and weapons charges, stemming from a shooting on March 26, 2021 in the 1100 block of Washington Boulevard.
Cameron Green was shot multiple times inside the Bella Roma Pizza shop there about 1:02 a.m. and pronounced dead a short time later. A second victim was shot in the leg and buttocks, wounds that were deemed non-life-threatening.
Officers recovered 63 shell casings, a laser scope, bullet fragments and multiple projectiles at the scene, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, five masked gunmen pulled up in a gray Honda Accord, exited the car in front of the restaurant and started opening fire. The shooters got back in the car and went eastbound on W. Cross Street.
Surveillance video showed Priester was driving the Honda Accord, prosecutors said.
Police executed a search and seizure warrant on Priester's Northeast Baltimore home on April 1, 2021 and he fled along with a woman. Officers pursued them until the pair eventually crashed at the intersection of Hamilton and Birchwood avenues, prosecutors said.
Priester and the woman were arrested. He was apprehended wearing the same jacket he was seen with in surveillance video of the shooting, prosecutors said.
A short time later, a woman in the 4100 block of Moravia Road called police to report a gun had been found in a puddle outside her home. Priester had led police through the area during the chase, prosecutors said.
The 9mm Beretta had an extended magazine with 23 rounds and one in the chamber, prosecutors said. The BPD Firearms Lab linked the gun with casings recovered at the scene of the shooting in Pigtown.
Investigators recovered a second extended magazine in Priester's home and the sneakers he was wearing on the night of the shooting, prosecutors said.
"This hefty sentence is a testament to the severity of Mr. Priester's violent actions and total disregard for human life. Our residents, our streets, our businesses, and our homes should never be subjected to gunfire and mayhem. I am thankful for the outcome of this case and I hope it provides some closure for the victims and their families," said State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
Priester is ineligible for parole during the first 15 years of his sentence.
