A 7-year-old boy re-enacted for police a fatal shooting he said he witnessed at a Gainesville public housing project, according to court testimony Wednesday.
Police interviewed the boy in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old Aikeem Hall, who was killed early on the night of Oct. 5 during a quarrel with another man in a parking lot at Atlanta Street apartments.
Christopher D. Slaughter, 18, a resident of the apartments and acquaintance of Hall’s, is charged with his murder.
Gainesville Police Investigator Bryan Majors testified during Slaughter’s preliminary hearing in Hall County Magistrate Court that the boy said he was hiding behind a van about 10 feet away when he saw “the guy living at (apartment) L-4” shoot Hall twice with a handgun.
Other witnesses told police Slaughter lived in apartment L-4 with the leaseholder, his girlfriend.
During his interview with police, the boy stood up and demonstrated the shooting, holding his arm out and saying “pow” twice, then showing how the shooter slowly walked off, according to Majors.
The boy also told police that the shooter looked at him and said, “don’t even think about it.”
Slaughter was arrested a day after the shooting at his father’s house in Franklin County, where he was found hiding under a bed, according to Franklin County sheriff’s officials.
Slaughter later confessed to the shooting during an interview with Gainesville police, Majors testified.
“He said he shot Aikeem because he was mad at him, because every time he would come to his house, money was missing, and he heard around town Aikeem had been saying stuff about him,” Majors testified.
Another witness told police Slaughter and Hall were “fussing” when Slaughter pulled out a handgun. The witness, who was not identified by name in court, said he told Slaughter to “chill” and that “it’s not worth it,” according to Majors.
Hall was shot in the right leg and chest and died less than an hour later at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. A Kel-Tek .32-caliber automatic pistol was recovered from a trash bin where witnesses said the shooter discarded the gun. A fingerprint found on the gun’s ammunition magazine was matched to Slaughter, Majors testified.
Chief Magistrate Judge Margaret Gregory allowed Majors to refer to witnesses by numbers rather than names during the hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Kit Devine explained there were “public safety” concerns over identifying the witnesses in open court.
Devine said the defense and prosecution agreed not to publicly disclose the names of the witnesses in court yet,
noting that Wednesday’s hearing was still close in time to the incident and that “passions may still be running high.”
Gregory bound the case over to Hall County Superior Court. Slaughter, who has filed a motion asking that
a superior court judge set bond, remains in the Hall County jail.
Police interviewed the boy in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old Aikeem Hall, who was killed early on the night of Oct. 5 during a quarrel with another man in a parking lot at Atlanta Street apartments.
Christopher D. Slaughter, 18, a resident of the apartments and acquaintance of Hall’s, is charged with his murder.
Gainesville Police Investigator Bryan Majors testified during Slaughter’s preliminary hearing in Hall County Magistrate Court that the boy said he was hiding behind a van about 10 feet away when he saw “the guy living at (apartment) L-4” shoot Hall twice with a handgun.
Other witnesses told police Slaughter lived in apartment L-4 with the leaseholder, his girlfriend.
During his interview with police, the boy stood up and demonstrated the shooting, holding his arm out and saying “pow” twice, then showing how the shooter slowly walked off, according to Majors.
The boy also told police that the shooter looked at him and said, “don’t even think about it.”
Slaughter was arrested a day after the shooting at his father’s house in Franklin County, where he was found hiding under a bed, according to Franklin County sheriff’s officials.
Slaughter later confessed to the shooting during an interview with Gainesville police, Majors testified.
“He said he shot Aikeem because he was mad at him, because every time he would come to his house, money was missing, and he heard around town Aikeem had been saying stuff about him,” Majors testified.
Another witness told police Slaughter and Hall were “fussing” when Slaughter pulled out a handgun. The witness, who was not identified by name in court, said he told Slaughter to “chill” and that “it’s not worth it,” according to Majors.
Hall was shot in the right leg and chest and died less than an hour later at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. A Kel-Tek .32-caliber automatic pistol was recovered from a trash bin where witnesses said the shooter discarded the gun. A fingerprint found on the gun’s ammunition magazine was matched to Slaughter, Majors testified.
Chief Magistrate Judge Margaret Gregory allowed Majors to refer to witnesses by numbers rather than names during the hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Kit Devine explained there were “public safety” concerns over identifying the witnesses in open court.
Devine said the defense and prosecution agreed not to publicly disclose the names of the witnesses in court yet,
noting that Wednesday’s hearing was still close in time to the incident and that “passions may still be running high.”
Gregory bound the case over to Hall County Superior Court. Slaughter, who has filed a motion asking that
a superior court judge set bond, remains in the Hall County jail.