DC Superior Court Judge Neal E Kravitz heard testimony on Feb. 9 about a victim who was fatally shot eight times in broad daylight.
Khalid Claggett, 42, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction of greater than one year. All charges face an aggravating factor of allegedly being committed during Claggett’s release for another offense. The charges stem from Claggett’s alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Isaac Aull Jr., 30, on the 1600 block of Franklin Street, NE, on June 11, 2021.
The prosecution called two eyewitnesses who were in their respective vehicles during the shooting.
One eyewitness, driving a vehicle, testified that they saw the shooter chase an individual down the street on foot. The individual was “ducking between the cars” in order to avoid getting shot, said the eyewitness.
The eyewitness said he fled the scene in his vehicle before returning later, feeling compelled to discuss his account to police.
On cross-examination, the eyewitness told defense attorney Howard McEachern they saw the shooter run back towards a Walgreens pharmacy after shooting the victim.
Another eyewitness, who drove an ambulance at the time of the shooting, testified that a pedestrian approached him and said someone had been shot and needed assistance. The ambulance driver said that he saw an individual hunched over in the street, but was unsure if the scene was safe, and therefore hesitant to leave his vehicle.
According to the ambulance driver, someone holding a gun ran towards the person who was hunched over in the street. The eyewitness claimed that the person running began shooting at the person hunched over, and then stopped to fix their gun that had jammed.
The ambulance driver described his memory as “a little fuzzy,” and was unsure about some details of the shooting. For example, whether or not the victim had asked him for assistance.
On cross-examination, McEachern pressed the eyewitness for details about the pause they claimed the shooter took while fixing his weapon. The ambulance driver described that the person “was shooting, then messed with the gun a little bit, then went back to shooting,” but wasn’t sure of the reason they had stopped to fiddle with the gun.
Prosecutors also called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective, who reviewed security camera footage that showed the shooting from multiple angles. The footage depicted two individuals walking down Franklin Street and entering a parking lot. Upon entering the lot, the video showed a person in a gold car shooting at one of the individuals and chasing him down Rhode Island Avenue onto Franklin Street.
The footage showed the shooter running back down Rhode Island into the parking lot moments later.
In addition, prosecutors called another witness who testified that her husband’s gold GMC Yukon had been stolen. She said she attempted to contact police about the vehicle, but police told her that it was being held in connection with an MPD investigation.
An forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Aull confirmed his manner of death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
The prosecution showed the jury the expert’s autopsy report and she confirmed the locations of the bullet wounds. According to the expert, Aull sustained eight gunshot wounds: two to his neck, four to his back, one to his hip, and another to his shin.
The expert said the wounds to Aull’s neck were the most fatal and estimated they could cause a victim to die within a minute. The expert described, one shot to the neck would cause the victim “dropping to the ground then dying shortly thereafter.”
According to the expert, projectile fragments were recovered from Aull’s wounds and blue and copper pieces of metal were recovered from his brain.
The jury is scheduled to return Feb. 11 and parties are slated to reconvene on Feb. 10 to discuss jury instructions.
