Attorney says gang membership does not make one a killer

An Eastlake man went on trial Monday in a double murder and his attorney told a jury he was not involved in either gang-related slaying.

Opening statements were made in the trial of Donte Jerome Haddock, 27, and Anthony Constantin Frank, 27, who are both charged with killing Xusha Brown, Jr., 22, in 2013 and Darris Walker, 20, in 2011.

Haddock’s attorney, Jane Kinsey, told jurors Haddock went to Eastlake High School and is from Eastlake. Both he and Frank have pleaded not guilty.

“Because you’re a gang member that does not make you a killer,” said Kinsey, who said that police had “pigeon-holed (him) as a gang member.”

The eight man, four woman jury with four alternates has been told by San Diego Superior Court Judge Louis Hanoian the trial will last six to eight weeks.

Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach told jurors it was Frank who was the gunman who killed both men. Haddock was the alleged driver, although his lawyer disputed that.
Roach said Frank “emptied the gun” when he shot at a car in La Mesa on May 5, 2013, killing Brown, and wounding the other driver, Malcolm Hune, 27.

The real killer, said attorney Zaki Zehawi, who represents Frank, was co-defendant Alaeante Akila Eason, 29, of Chula Vista, who has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

“Alaeante Eason makes a deal,” said Zehawi.

Eason faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison, but could get four years and four months, according to court records. Eason has pleaded guilty to some unrelated cases including pimping, drug possession, and human trafficking.

Eason may testify in the trial and his sentencing is set for Aug. 20.

Walker was a Grossmont College student when he was shot on April 30, 2011, while sitting in a parked car near the Marie Callender’s Restaurant off Interstate 8 near La Mesa.
Roach said cell phone tower records showed Haddock was nearby when both victims were killed, and there was a text message sent that incriminated Frank.

“Remember I know everything from the murders to your business,” stated a text message to Frank that was sent by his girlfriend, according to the prosecutor.

The photo of Rodney Martin, a man who is serving a 6-year sentence for manslaughter in a South Bay motel, was shown to the jury by Kinsey who said Martin will be a defense witness.

Haddock, Frank, and Eason were arrested in 2016 after a long investigation and they all remain in jail.