Judge Sentences Convicted Murderer to Life in Prison

By D.C. Witness Staff - March 8, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Documents | Homicides | Suspects |

A man who was convicted of murdering a government informant was sentenced March 8 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Derrick Harris

During a retrial, Anthony Waters was convicted Oct. 30 of first-degree murder while armed in connection to the murder of Derrick Harris on the 2600 block of Birney Place, SE in 2010.

Waters, 51, was also found guilty of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, receiving 15 years in prison, and carrying a pistol without a license with a prior felony, receiving five years in prison. All three sentences will run concurrently to each other.

Waters was initially found guilty of the same charges in 2012. At that time, he was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.

According to the prosecution, the motive behind Harris’ death traces back to a 1998 murder trial. Apparently, Harris, 37, testified against Waters’ best friend. The prosecution said that Harris, Waters and the friend were from the Parkchester neighborhood in the Barry Farms area of Southeast DC.

According to the prosecution, Harris stayed away from the neighborhood until the day he was murdered. He said he was a “marked man.”

According to court documents, Harris was shot once in the head and five times in the back.