Jolanta Little was determined not to change his mind.
Little, 22, was a key witness in the upcoming murder trial of a Washington woman shot dead in 2008 before she was scheduled to testify against an accused local drug dealer.
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But last week, just days before the murder trial was supposed to begin, Little told prosecutors he would not cooperate. “I’ll give you some time to think about this,” D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin said. Little bowed his head — then looked up and responded: “I’ve thought about it. No.”
Little was scheduled to testify in the murder trial of Willie Walker Jr. and Ricky I. Donaldson. Prosecutors said Walker ordered Donaldson via jailhouse letters to kill Delois Persha, 44, because she planned to testify against Walker in an upcoming trial.
Now, those prosecutors have asked to delay the trial for two or three months — to regroup after losing Little.
“We have an obligation as members of the community to make sure we have the best case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessio Evangelista told the judge at a hearing last week. Prosecutors said they also planned to investigate whether Walker or Donaldson, in the D.C. jail, somehow influenced Little’s decision.
Persha’s death highlights the danger sometimes facing witnesses who come forward to help prosecutors, especially in cases involving violent crimes. And Little’s refusal to testify punctuates the point. When physical evidence is lacking, prosecutors and police rely heavily on eyewitness testimony to secure convictions. But sometimes, those witnesses are targeted. Other times, they aren’t willing to take the risk.
“People realize if someone kills, they’ll kill again, and the next time it could be a member of their family,” said Ronald Moten, co-founder of the D.C. outreach group Peaceoholics. Moten urges D.C. residents to cooperate with police when they see a crime, but he recognizes that testifying can be frightening.
“There is a fear of retaliation,” he said.
Prosecutors say witness intimidation is rare in the District, with hundreds of area residents testifying in trials each week without threat of violence. The U.S. attorney’s office in the District offers a variety of security services through its Emergency Witness Assistance Program, including moving victims or witnesses to improve their safety.
In 2012, the program assisted 168 witnesses and 308 family members with either transportation or relocation services, according to Bill Miller, a spokesman for the office.
But some witnesses reject authorities’ efforts to keep them safe. Sometimes they flatly reject relocation assistance; other times they venture back to the neighborhoods where they lived — against the advice of prosecutors.
In 2009, Crystal Washington, 44, was shot dead in broad daylight as she stood at a Northeast Washington bus stop. Prosecutors said a District man ordered an associate to kill Washington because she was scheduled to testify against him in a trial set to start two days later. Washington was not receiving protection from the U.S. attorney’s office, but she had been staying at a halfway house, which she had left and planned to return to on the day she died.
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