District Man Convicted of First Degree Premeditated Murder
While Armed in the 2010 Killing of a Government Witness
- Defendant Hid Behind a Building, Waiting to Attack the Victim -

     WASHINGTON - Anthony Waters, 44, of Washington, D.C., was convicted by a jury today of first degree premeditated murder while armed, with aggravating circumstances, in the June 2010 shooting of a government witness, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Russell F. Canan has scheduled sentencing for March 23, 2012. Waters faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release.

     According to the government’s evidence at trial, Waters and the victim, Derrick Harris, 37, knew each other from the 2600 block of Birney Place SE, and were part of a crew in the neighborhood known as Parkchester. In June 1998, Harris testified regarding a 1996 murder that occurred in the Barry Farms area of Southeast Washington. Afterward, Harris was shunned by many people he knew, including Waters, for cooperating with the authorities in the investigation.

     On June 14, 2010, at about 9 p.m., Waters and Harris got into an argument in the 2600 block of Birney Place. Waters punched Harris in the face and threatened to kill him if he was still there when Waters returned. Both men left the scene, but Waters returned and hid behind a building, waiting for the victim to come back. Shortly thereafter, when Harris returned to the neighborhood, Waters came out from his hiding place, wearing a ski mask, and repeatedly shot Harris. The victim died on the scene from his injuries, one gunshot wound to the head and five to the back.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the efforts of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Detectives Anthony McGee, Dwayne Corbett, and Jeffrey Williams. He also commended the work of Mobile Crime Technicians George Klein, James Savage and Dwayne Mitchell, and MPD Officers Steven Murrell and William Bogner.

     U.S. Attorney Machen also extended his appreciation to Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, as well as Paralegals Sandra Lane and Alesha Matthews, Litigation Support Specialists Thomas Royal, Kimberly Smith, William Henderson and Paul Howell, who assisted with trial preparation, and Intelligence Specialist Lawrence Grasso. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Vinét Bryant, who indicted the case and prosecuted the case at trial.

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