WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jurors in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday convicted Wilbert Whitaker, 77, of second-degree murder while armed plus a gun charge tied to a violent crime in the Washington killing of Leo Hackett.
Hackett, who was 30, was dating Whitaker’s daughter. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia tied the case to an April 30, 2016, shooting in Northeast.
Metropolitan Police Department officers answered a 911 call that day about a family disturbance. They found Whitaker and Hackett had been arguing, saw no injuries, heard no assault report and left without making an arrest.
Trial evidence showed Whitaker then grabbed a loaded .38 special from a bedroom. Hackett stepped out headed for his job. Whitaker followed, called to him, and when Hackett spun around Whitaker squeezed off two rounds that struck him in the chest and killed him.
Whitaker was taken into custody the day of the shooting and was freed weeks later after a preliminary hearing. Judges must impose no less than a five-year term on that armed-murder count when a gun is part of the crime. A sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 8, 2027.
The Metropolitan Police Department investigated. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia handled the prosecution.
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