A Baltimore man received a 22-year federal prison sentence for the murder of a California father, Ziyon Isaiah Thompson, during a marijuana-related dispute. In May 2022, Miguel Soto Diaz traveled to Baltimore to discuss a potential cannabis growing and selling venture with Thompson. The meeting escalated dramatically when Thompson took Soto Diaz hostage in a vacant house on Furrow Street.
During the hostage situation, Thompson FaceTimed Soto Diaz’s son in California, showing him his father bound and gagged. Thompson demanded $50,000 and 200 pounds of marijuana in exchange for Soto Diaz’s release. Later that evening, firefighters responded to a fire at the vacant house. Inside, they discovered the charred body of Soto Diaz, who had suffered gunshot wounds.
Investigators identified Thompson as the suspect through facial recognition technology. They also found video evidence of him purchasing and activating a ‘burner’ phone used to contact Soto Diaz’s son just hours before the incident. This case highlights the violent risks associated with illegal marijuana transactions and the extreme measures individuals may resort to over financial disputes in the drug trade.
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