BALTIMORE, Md. (WBFF) — A Baltimore man already serving decades in prison for arson will spend even more time behind bars after being convicted of threatening a witness in his case.
The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced Monday, July 13, 2026, that John Best was sentenced to 20 years of incarceration after being found guilty of witness intimidation. The sentence will be served consecutive to Best’s 30-year sentence for first-degree arson, bringing his total prison time to 50 years.
“The cooperation and courage of witnesses and victims to testify in a trial is the most important element to securing a conviction. Anyone who threatens to harm the brave men and women who agree to take the stand and speak their truth will face swift and severe consequences from our office,” State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said, via a press release. “Our city’s law enforcement and victim support networks have worked tirelessly over the decades to undo the stop snitching culture in Baltimore. Therefore, there can be no leniency in our prosecution of witness intimidation and related offenses. In short, this Defendant’s ‘Twitter fingers’ turned his 30-year sentence into a 50-year sentence by sending some text messages.”
The case stems from an incident on Oct. 31, 2024, when Baltimore Police responded to a residence in the 2800 block of Forest Glen Road for a domestic dispute. A woman told officers Best had acted aggressively toward her earlier that day and threatened to kill her, and she said he lived with her at the home.
While officers were speaking with the woman, Best arrived. Police asked him to stay back, but he refused, ran inside and barricaded himself, according to the state’s attorney’s office. Authorities said Best grabbed a knife and a lighter and began breaking windows, yelling that police would have to kill him and that he would provoke them by rushing them with the knife. He also said he would burn the residence down, prosecutors said.
Before officers could safely intervene, police observed smoke and fire growing from the first floor of the home. As the fire grew, Best tried to escape through a second-floor window. Officers were outside waiting, and Best initially said he would comply with instructions, but once he reached the ground he resisted as officers tried to arrest him, according to prosecutors.
The fire caused about $20,000 in structural damage and $10,000 in personal property damage. Best was charged with first-degree arson and related offenses.
During trial preparations, prosecutors said Best sent a tablet message to the victim in the arson case warning that if she testified, he would have her and her family “wiped off the face of this earth” and that “life is a chess game and I can checkmate your life while I’m still living” because he “had say so in BGF.”
Best was convicted of first-degree arson in February 2026 and sentenced to 30 years of incarceration. He will now serve an additional 20 years for the witness intimidation conviction.
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