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Man guilty of killing witness

Kareem Johnson, serving life for killing Faheem Thomas-Childs, shot Walter Smith in 2002.

A North Philadelphia man serving a life sentence for the February 2004 shooting of a schoolboy that sparked citywide outrage was found guilty yesterday of killing a witness to a 2002 murder.

Kareem Johnson, 22, had been convicted in 2004 of fatally shooting 10-year-old Faheem Thomas-Childs, who was struck by a stray bullet in a gun battle outside his school. The killing provoked a wave of activism, including rallies and marches, in the city to try to stop youth violence.

Yesterday, Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder for slaying Walter Smith, 39, outside Dooner's Lounge at Chalmers and 29th Streets in December 2002. Smith, who was shot 12 times, was a key witness in the trial of Clinton Robinson - an alleged acquaintance of Johnson's - for an August 2002 murder, according to Assistant District Attorney Michael Barry.

The key prosecution evidence was a red baseball cap found at the scene of the crime containing Johnson's DNA and testimony that Johnson bragged about the murder.

Defense attorney Michael Coard said in his closing argument Friday that Bryant Younger, the witness who testified that Johnson boasted about the murder, was unreliable and "a rat." Younger was convicted of drug charges and had lied in the past, Coard said.

Coard also pointed out in his closing argument that Johnson's DNA was not the only DNA found on the baseball cap.

"The prosecution can't say for sure when Kareem Johnson wore the hat or how many times he wore it," Coard said.

In his closing argument, Barry said Johnson was the primary contributor of DNA on the hat, meaning he wore it most recently or most frequently.

In regard to his key witness, Barry said, "I don't like Bryant Younger. I won't shake his hand. But he picked Kareem Johnson without knowing that the hat even existed."

Smith's family was present at the trial.

"We are very well pleased with the efforts of the prosecutor," Rhonda Smith, the victim's wife, said after the closing arguments.

Tyrone Smith, the victim's brother, said, "We just want some closure to put our minds at ease."

The trial is set to continue with a death-penalty hearing this morning.