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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- September 24, 2018
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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Counsel focused on a conflict between two men during opening statements in a murder trial Sept. 24. Apparently, the men got into a confrontation over comments that regarded one man’s ex-wife.
Babajide Pittman is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Anthony Young on the 600 block of L Street, SE in 2016.
“Anthony Young was trying to leave,” the prosecution said. “He was in a car trying to get away. The defendant let his anger erupt and shot Young in the back eight times.”
The prosecution said Pittman, 31, and Young, 27, disagreed about whether details of a conversation should have been shared with the defendant’s ex-wife.
The ex-wife said Young did not live with her, but kept clothes at her home and slept over on the weekends. She said she didn’t have an intimate relationship with Young, but they were close like siblings.
Apparently, Pittman disclosed intimate information about his ex-wife to Young. When the ex-wife confronted Pittman about the comments he told the decedent, she said she wanted nothing else to do with him.
During the afternoon on the day of the homicide, the men met near 7th and L Street, SE. After an argument, Young turned to get into his girlfriend’s vehicle and Pittman opened fire, hitting the decedent eight times. Young’s girlfriend was also struck in the leg.
“Shoot or be killed. That was the choice Anthony Young forced Babajide Pittman to make,” Anthony Matthews, Pittman’s defense attorney, said. “Pittman didn’t want this, he didn’t go looking for this, he didn’t want any trouble.”
The defense argued that Young was the aggressor and sought out the defendant. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department recovered a .40 caliber gun from Young’s waistband.
Apparently, the shooting was captured on surveillance video from housing for the United States Marine Corps and a nearby home monitoring system. The prosecution said it plans to show the footage to the jury when the trial resumes on Sept. 25.