Detective Details Homicide Investigation After Man Found Dead in Elementary School Athletic Field

By Bersabel Ephrem [former] , Alisha Budhwani [former] - April 21, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A Metropolitan Police Department detective detailed the investigation into the death of a man who was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a Capitol Hill neighborhood elementary school’s athletic field during a preliminary hearing.

Aaron Wiggins, 26, was shot multiple times on the night of Oct. 6, 2021. He was pronounced dead at the scene and taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy revealed that he sustained 12 gunshot wounds to the elbow, arms, hands, legs, hip and chest.

The following December, Antonio Hawley, 19, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed. His preliminary hearing began on April 20 with testimony from the lead MPD detective on the case.

Surveillance footage examined during the investigation shows Hawley and a witness walking up to the entrance of the athletic field before a game and later leaving after the shooting. Defense attorney Lisbeth Sapirstein pointed out how the footage shows Hawley walking into the game wearing dark-colored leggings, a black compression shirt, black and white shorts and yellow football cleats. He did not appear to be wearing any type of head covering, such as a ski mask or hoodie, or holding any type of bag.

“If someone has just committed a shooting, they would probably keep their face covered,” Sapirstein said. “You wouldn’t rip off your mask and walk off.”

The witness accompanying Hawley was wearing a sweatshirt over his head, light-colored sweatpants, white shoes and a champion bag across his chest. An eyewitness described the shooter as being somewhere from 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with a skinny build, dark complexion and a grey and white outfit. When Sapirstein asked the detective which of the two the description sounded the most like, the detective responded, “the description doesn’t match either one of them.”

Hawley is a 6-foot-1-inch Black man with a light complexion, according to court documents.

The detective said another witness told investigators the shooter was wearing white tights and a black hoodie.

Hawley and the witness were picked up by a friend at a nearby street after the shooting. When the friend asked the two what happened, Hawley responded, “We don’t need to talk about it,” the detective said.

During an interview with police, the witness who is seen with Hawley in the surveillance footage said “Slick”, which police believe is Hawley’s nickname, “shouldn’t have done that.” The witness told the detective he tried to stop the incident but it was too late.

Sapirstein argued that this witness could have been the one responsible for Wiggins’ death. She said her client told law enforcement he would be willing to take a lie detector test.

DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee ruled that the case has enough evidence to go to trial. After making the ruling, he heard arguments on the possibility of Hawley’s release from DC Jail.

Sapirstein said Hawley can live with a family member and would comply with all court orders if released. The prosecutor countered by calling Hawley’s record a “repeated demonstration” of failed attempts to obey court orders and the law.

“He has no clear intention to so I would ask the court to keep him detained,” the prosecutor said.

Judge Lee decided that Hawley will remain at DC Jail, citing his multiple contacts with the courts and an active warrant in Virginia.

“He has a very concerning prior history and deciding not to appear in Virginia shows that he may be a flight risk,” Judge Lee said.

The defendant is scheduled to return to court on July 12 for a status hearing. In the meantime, prosecutors have two weeks to hand over body-worn camera footage to the defense.