A Prince George’s County jury convicted a Waldorf man of stabbing two men, killing one of them, in a wooded area of Clinton.
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Prosecutors said 24-year-old Martinez L. Witherspoon mistakenly believed that 28-year-old Steven P. Williams was driving his stolen all-terrain vehicle, and took matters into his own hands by killing the rider and a wounding another man.
Witherspoon was found guilty late Friday of second-degree murder, first-degree assault on the surviving victim and other crimes. State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey lauded the jury’s verdict and hopes Witherspoon will receive a stiff penalty at his sentencing, scheduled for Feb. 26. “Life is more precious than an all-terrain vehicle,” Ivey said in a statement. “Vigilantism will not be tolerated as a remedy for these kinds of crimes.”
Witherspoon faces 56 years in prison. On April 15, 2008, police said someone had stolen a four-wheeler from the home of Witherspoon’s parents near the 9600 block of Gwynndale Drive.
Witherspoon later heard the roar of off-road vehicles coming from the dirt trails behind the house in the wooded area southeast of Surrattsville High School. Witherspoon went to investigate and saw a man riding an ATV similar to his along with another man who turned out to be Williams on a dirt bike. Witherspoon hid until the riders approached and jumped out and stabbed both drivers, prosecutors said.
When Witherspoon grabbed the ATV, he discovered that it was not his stolen vehicle, prosecutors said. Witherspoon walked back to his mother’s house and then drove to his apartment in Waldorf.
Williams died at the scene.
The second victim was wounded but managed to call 911 and was taken to a hospital. Detectives later that day responded to the report of the stolen ATV and spoke with Witherspoon’s mother. Witherspoon was arrested two weeks later.
