The attorneys for Keith Washington, the former Prince George’s County police officer convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges on Monday, said they plan to appeal the jury’s decision.
Washington was escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs after the jury handed down its decision that could keep Washington, who shot two delivery men in his Accokeek home, killing one of them, behind bars for as long as 70 years.
The jury acquitted Washington of second-degree murder charges, but convicted him of first-degree assault charges and using a handgun to commit a felony, as well as other charges.
Mike Starr, Washington’s lawyer, said Monday it’s too soon to say on what grounds he will appeal.
After deliberating for 11 hours over two days, the 12-member jury “likely compromised on the verdict,” said Robert Bonsib, a defense lawyer with decades of experience as both a Prince George’s County and federal prosecutor. Although “those are very serious counts and I suspect the prosecutor will accept that as a victory,” he said.
During the eight-day trial, Washington and his wife, Stacey, testifiedthat Robert White and Brandon Clark attacked him while delivering a bed frame on the night of Jan. 24, 2007, and that he acted out of self-defense when he shot both of them, killing Clark. The attack started, Washington said, after he confronted White for being in Washington’s 6-year-old daughter’s bedroom.
But in his testimony White, the state’s sole eyewitness, said Washington was angry over the delivery men’s late arrival and that he fired without provocation, telling the two men “I know how to get you the [expletive] out of my house.”
Meanwhile, Washington has already been indicted on assault charges in a separate case for allegedly pointing a gun at a real estate appraiser when he mistakenly knocked on Washington’s door last spring, a charge the murder trial jury never heard about.
