Homicide Witness Says She Told Shooter, ‘Don’t Do it, Don’t Do it!’

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A witness told the jury in DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman’s courtroom that she pleaded with a homicide suspect to not shoot her boyfriend, after he had shot their friend. The testimony came during a hearing on Jan. 29.

Ethan Cunningham, 22, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, first-degree burglary while armed, seven counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, three counts of felony murder while armed, kidnapping while armed, attempted robbery while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and carrying a pistol outside of the home/business without a license.

These charges stem from Cunningham’s alleged involvement in the attempted robbery and fatal shooting of 38-year-old James Curtis on May 10, 2022 on the 2600 block of Santon Road SE.

On Jan. 23, prosecutors dismissed four charges – one count of felony murder while armed, kidnapping while armed, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Curtis’ roommate’s girlfriend testified that she saw Curtis, her boyfriend, and the gunman “tussling,” adding she saw the gunman standing over her boyfriend, scared he was going to be shot. She recalled she screamed “don’t do it, don’t do it,” at the gunman.

The prosecution called on an analyst from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) who performed Curtis’ autopsy to review autopsy photos showing evidence of gunshot wounds. The expert witness, who has performed over 8,000 autopsies, identified the victim’s cause of death as a gunshot wound to the central chest area and the manner of death as a homicide.

Prosecutors also called on two individuals, one who knew Cunningham from work and one who saw him every day for about six months, who testified they identified him in video footage of a “be on the lookout” report released by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in May 2022.

According to the individuals, they were able to identify one of the two suspects shown in the report as Cunningham.

Parties are slated to reconvene Jan. 30.