Prosecution Argues Decedent Was A “Marked Man”

By D.C. Witness Staff - October 3, 2018
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

During opening arguments in a murder trial, the prosecution said that neighborhood rhetoric toward “snitches” made the decedent a “marked man.”

Derrick Harris

The defendant, Anthony Waters is charged with first-degree murder while armed and related gun charges for the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Derrick Harris on the 2600 block of Birney Place, SE in 2010.

On Oct. 2, the prosecution informed a 16-member jury that Waters and Harris, 51, were both from the Parkchester neighborhood in Southeast DC. She also noted that Harris testified against Waters’ best friend in a 1988 murder trial. According to the prosecution, people in the neighborhood do not favor people who are “hot” or a “snitch.”  

Apparently, Harris stayed away from the neighborhood until the day he was murdered. According to Harris’ wife, who testified after opening arguments, Harris was in the neighborhood helping a friend move a table.

When Harris was in the neighborhood Waters confronted him, punched him in the face and told him “I bet not see you when I get back or I’m going to kill you,” according to the prosecution. A short while later a man in a white tank top and tan shorts wearing a black ski mask confronted Harris and shot him once in the head and five times in the back.

The prosecution said three witnesses saw the murder from their apartment. Apparently, one witness said the shooter walked around the corner and took off his mask. The witness identified the shooter as Waters.

The defense argued that the three eye-witnesses are “seriously flawed persons,” citing that all three were avid drug users. Also, the defense said one of the witnesses was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and was not taking medicine for either diagnosis at the time of the murder. 

The defense said Waters couldn’t have committed the murder because he could account for his whereabouts. According to the defense, at the time of the murder Waters was on Wade Road, a short distance from where the murder occurred.

The trial is scheduled to resume Oct. 3.