Leaks in murder-for-hire case spotlight Baltimore rapper YNE Sosa as witness

Leaked court documents that have spread like wildfire online reveal a Baltimore rapper is a witness in a murder-for-hire case.

Those leaks prompted fears of witness intimidation and safety concerns for that rapper—addressed before a judge today. 

WJZ's news partners at The Banner first reported on the leak and the hearing. 

The murder case

The murder of Angel Smith stunned Baltimore in May 2022. Smith was 7 months pregnant when she was gunned down in East Baltimore along with her fiancé Yahmell Montague. 

At the time, friends and family of the couple spoke candidly to WJZ Investigates about their grief. 

"That was a pregnant woman in a car," a friend told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren through tears. "When is the violence going to stop? Angel was pregnant!"

One of Montague's relatives told WJZ, "He's with God right now. God will judge you for what you have done, and there's no hiding from it."

The charges 

It took several years, but prosecutors finally connected the dots—charging Cornell Moore and Keith Russell—alleging they took money to kill and are behind more than a dozen shootings and carjackings. 

"The cold and calculating nature of the alleged acts in these indictments must be met with swift and serious consequences," said Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates in October 2024.

Bates promised, "We are not finished. We're coming for all those individuals involved."

Rapper YNE Sosa connection 

Keith Ambush, also known as rapper YNE Sosa, became connected to the case after documents revealed he was cooperating with prosecutors and would be a witness at the upcoming trial. 

That prompted some people on social media to call him a "rat" and a "snitch."

Now, those documents the court ordered sealed from public view have been posted online and seen by tens of thousands of people.

Justin Fenton with WJZ's news partner The Banner broke the story and attended a court hearing where Judge Robert Taylor Jr. tried to get to the bottom of the leaks.

The Banner reported Judge Taylor questioned defense attorneys who denied they had any involvement in those leaks. He also questioned prosecutors about how they safeguard documents—and why there was no watermark. 

Judge Taylor told the attorneys, "This is very upsetting to me. I issued the protective order for a reason. This is about people's lives. This isn't just about a YouTube video. People get killed over things like this."

WJZ reached out to Bates' office and was told they have no comment at this time.