Witness Identifies Defendant During Trial

By D.C. Witness Staff - March 10, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On March 9, a woman, who allegedly witnessed a murder, identified the defendant in open court. 

Shaka Haltiwanger, 23, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Anthony Kelly, 39, on Sept. 10, 2021, on the 1400 block of 29th Street, SE. 

The victim’s neighbor, who said she was was closer with Kelly, testified that she had seen Haltiwanger following Kelly down the hall following a confrontation that had been heard by several neighbors.

When the men reached her by the steps at the front entrance of the building, she said she watched Haltiwanger shoot Kelly in the back. 

She stated that as soon as she saw Kelly hit the ground, she looked at Haltiwanger and said “damn, you just shot him.” According to the witness, Haltiwanger then began to run out of the building.

The witness also told the jury that the defendant looked back at her when leaving, making her nervous of future retaliation for witnessing the murder. 

When asked if she knew the defendant and the victim, she said yes. She said she knew Kelly better due to his close relationship with her daughter and her close relationship with his father. She explained she knew Haltiwanger, who she called “40”, because she used to buy crack from him. 

According to the witness, she received several calls from an unknown caller days before her testimony to the Grand Jury, which made her believe that Haltiwanger was trying to reach out to her. She stated she did not answer any of the calls out of fear. 

During cross examination, defense attorney Wole Falodun, questioned her ability to recall what happened the day of the shooting since she had been using crack with Kelly’s father at around 3 a.m. 

As trial for the murder continued, the prosecution called other witnesses to help the jury understand what happened on the day of the incident. 

The man who called 911 after the shooting testified that he did not remember much of the incident due to some health issues he’s been having, but he said, before the Grand Jury, that he had better recollection of what happened at that time. 

The jury heard a recording of his 911 call. During the call, the witness sounded like he was in distress, begging the dispatcher to send some help and telling people surrounding him to stop pulling on the victim. 

Trial is slated to resume on March 13.