Judge Continues Preliminary Hearing for Homicide Defendant

By Bersabel Ephrem [former] - February 1, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Jan. 31, DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan continued a preliminary hearing for a 2022 homicide case.

Desmond Gaskin, 37, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 40-year-old William Whittington Jr., on July 19, 2022, on the 400 block of Burbank Street, SE.

Despite hearing arguments from both parties, Judge Raffinan refrained from making a ruling on probable cause.

Whittington was discovered on the roadway close to the back driver side of a black Lexus automobile that was parked nearby, according to the lead MPD detective.

He was lying on his left side with his head resting on the street in a pool of blood, the detective said.

A pistol was discovered on the left side of the belt buckle. The detective reported that no one immediately saw the pistol since it was concealed between the victim’s shirt and belt buckle.

The detective also said he requested the list of tenants and footage from the surveillance cameras of the apartment the day after the murder.

In the video, the detective said he noticed that every camera was “offline.”

The property manager was able to access the apartment complex’s basement where he discovered that the door had been forced open and that the DVR system that was linked to the camera system was missing.

The last image that was captured before it was disconnected was of a male in all black standing in the room.

Defense attorney, Jason Tulley, began his cross examination by playing body worn camera footage from the day of the homicide.

A witness is heard informing the responding police officers that she saw two males arguing.

She characterized the suspect as a black male, about 5’7″ and 250 pounds, who appeared to be in his early or late 50s. She added that the man had a bald head.

Tulley said the witness gave the shooter’s height as 5’7″, but at the time of his arrest, Gaskin was 6’2″.

The witness added that the gunman had no obvious tattoos, but Tulley emphasized that Gaskin was heavily covered in tattoos.

The shooter, according to the witness, was bald, while Gaskin had hair on the sides and the back of his head. The upper center was the only area where he was hairless.

“You didnt try to look for a picture or ask witnesses how much hair Mr. Gaskin had the days leading up to the shooting?” Tulley asked the detective.

“I did not,” the detective replied.

The shooter was characterized as being in his 50s by the witness. Gaskin was “youthful looking” and 35 years old at the time, Tulley said.

According to the witness, the shooter had a medium build, but Tulley said Gaskin was a very big man who weighed 320 pounds at the time.

The witness was accurate, according to the defense, regarding the time of the shooting, the altercation between the two males, the fact that the victim was shot in the head, the fact that there was only one shot, and the location of the victim at the time of the shooting.

“She was pretty spot on about the time and most details,” Tulley said.

Parties are set to reconvene on Feb. 1.