Darious Scales and Todd Green pleaded innocent Wednesday for the fatal shooting of Timothy Delonte Dawkins in August 2013.
A year ago, Dawkins was found in the 4200 block of 4th street Southeast lying face down on the walkway with a single gunshot wound to the back.
Scales was not shooting at Dawkins that night, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman said, but was involved in a gun fight with Green, who was arrested two days after Dawkins death.
Prosecutors have charged both men under the urban warfare theory, meaning they don’t have to prove who fired the fatal shot, but that their actions played a role in the crime committed. The two rivals will be co-defendants.
Scales is charged with second-degree murder while armed, along with assault and weapons charges. For the second time, Green has been indicted with first-degree murder while armed.
Charging documents say video footage showed Green holding and aiming a firearm with an extended clip firing toward Dawkins and Green. During the shooting, an unarmed Dawkins tried to run away, but fell after he was shot. Scales, meanwhile, fired back at Green, and then took off running toward the back of an apartment complex, documents say.
A witness told police that it had seen Scales and Dawkins together that day in a black car, and it saw Scales with a gun. According to charging documents, it had several conflicts with Green, due to it’s friendship with Scales. When the witness confided in Scales about the encounters, Scales said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m going to handle that,” documents state.
Both men are scheduled for a status hearing Dec. 12 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Robert E. Morin.
A copy of indictment documents are embedded below:
