Defense Counsel Questions Witness’ Reliability

By Alyssia Davis [former] - March 23, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

During the ongoing trial of homicide defendant Kalim Satterfield, defense counsel questioned the reliability of the victim’s girlfriend’s father on March 21 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Phillip S. Jackson, suggesting the witness might have misidentified the shooter.

The victim’s girlfriend’s father testified on Monday that he was on the porch with his daughter and grandchild when two cars parked down the street from her house. A light-skinned man, later identified as Satterfield, got out of one of the cars, went down an alleyway, and started shooting at the victim. When he missed, he fired a second time, striking the victim.

The witness said the defendant shot the victim three or four times and then left the alleyway. 

After the shooting, the witness said, he stood in shock and tried to remain calm. It wasn’t until May 30, 2019, when the witness met with Baltimore Police Department officers to explain what he saw and was shown a photo array. However, he did not identify a shooter at that time. 

The victim’s girlfriend’s father later testified that the defendant was in a picture originally shown by police, but he didn’t say anything out of fear. When officers showed him footage from the incident, he said, he identified Satterfield as the shooter.

During cross-examination with defense attorney Donald Wright, the witness said that he bought marijuana from the victim prior to the incident and was high at the time of the shooting. The witness added that he saw the shooter’s clothes, eyes, and body, but that a shirt was covering the shooter’s nose and mouth. 

Prior to the shooting, the witness said, the victim was talking to his group of friends, including the defendant. 

Wright questioned the witness’ ability to correctly identify the defendant after the witness told police 10 times that none of the pictures shown to him were of the shooter, explaining that he had difficulty remembering the shooter’s face.

A crime scene technician also testified during the trial, reviewing her documentation and evidence from the crime scene, including a black Honda, seven shell casings, and a T-shirt and baseball hat covered with blood.

Satterfield’s trial is set to continue on March 22.