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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- December 19, 2018
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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On Dec. 17, the defense in a murder trial began their case by telling the jury that police failed to fully investigate another potential suspect.
Eric McDuffie is charged with first-degree murder and a related gun offense for allegedly shooting 23-year-old Antonio McCallister on the 2700 block of Langston Place, SE in 2015. McDuffie, 27, was initially tried in April; however, the jury was unable to make a unanimous decision.
According to the defense, a Metropolitan Police Department officer, who was in Woodland doing community service, was told the nickname of the shooter by a 6-year-old boy. Apparently, the person the boy identified was not McDuffie.
Multiple detectives on the case, including the lead detective, testified that they sought information on the potential suspect. However, none of them could say for sure whether or not they interviewed and/or followed up with the 6-year-old boy.
One of the detectives testified that they stopped investigating the potential suspect after McCallister’s mother identified McDuffie as the shooter. The mother said she was within feet of the shooting and caught her son when he fell.
The 6-year-old boy’s mother said she is close with her son and that he didn’t tell her that he saw the shooting. The boy’s mother also said her son was asleep in her room at the time of the murder. However, the boy’s mother said that police didn’t approach her or her son about the murder until April.
Closing arguments began on Dec. 18.