Were Witnesses Forced to ID Shooter?

By D.C. Witness Staff - November 7, 2018
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

As a murder trial progresses, a jury is challenged with deciphering whether police coerced witnesses to name a defendant as the shooter.

Kenneth Adams, 20, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, obstruction of justice and related firearms offenses for allegedly shooting 21-year-old Dante “Te” Kinard on the 1800 block of Benning Road, NE in 2016.

On Nov. 7, a witness told the jury that the police forced him to identify Adams for the grand jury. The witness said he couldn’t identify the shooter because he ran away after hearing the gunshots.

Several other witnesses, who were called by the prosecution, also said they gave false grand jury testimonies because the police forced them to.

On Nov. 6, the prosecution said another witness willingly and truthfully told the grand jury that Adams was present during an earlier shooting, pointing to documents citing the witness’s statements. 

However, during cross-examination, the witness said a detective told her what to tell the grand jury. She said her statements about Adams was not true. 

“He was giving me answers,” the witness said. “If I said I didn’t know, he’d be like yes you do.” 

Also, on Nov. 1, another witness told the prosecution that he saw Adams at the shooting. However, during cross-examination, the witness said he told police that he couldn’t see who specifically shot Kinard. The witness said police responded to his uncertainty by yelling at him.

“I felt pressured … I was assuming,” the witness said.

The trial is scheduled to resume on Nov. 8.

Thamar Bailey and Maggi Chambers contributed to this story.