Malik Anderson
Malik Anderson stood over the motionless body of his lifelong friend, looked into his distant eyes and shot him nine times in the face, according to a statement that the accused killer allegedly made to police.
But after a Municipal Court hearing last Wednesday, Anderson’s attorney disputed the purported murder confession, claiming that homicide detectives violated his 19-year-old client’s rights in coaxing him to talk about the Aug. 19 slaying of Daquan Marquis Crump at a Somerton construction site.
“We don’t quarrel with the fact that [Anderson] gave a statement,” defense attorney Charles A. Peruto Jr. told the Northeast Times. “We disagree with how it was taken.”
According to Peruto, detectives questioned Anderson at Homicide Unit headquarters soon after the Aug. 19 shooting, but Anderson denied his involvement. Upon his release, Anderson’s family hired Peruto, who then notified police that he represented Anderson.
Peruto contends that detectives violated his client’s rights by questioning him again without the attorney present. That’s when Anderson allegedly gave his damning confession. Detectives recorded Anderson’s statement in a three-page document that Assistant District Attorney Richard Sax submitted at last week’s preliminary hearing. After the hearing, Sax said that detectives did nothing wrong in questioning Anderson without his attorney present. For purposes of the hearing, the defense agreed that police read a Miranda warning to the defendant before questioning him, according to the prosecutor.
“Constitutional rights are personal to the individual. It’s the defendant’s right either to exercise [them] or give [them] up,” Sax told the Northeast Times.
Peruto said he intends to argue the validity of the alleged confession further as the case progresses.
“That’s a hearing for another day,” Sax said.
The prosecutor presented one witness, homicide Detective Fred Mole, who read Anderson’s alleged confession aloud. Judge David C. Shuter ordered Anderson to be held for trial on a general murder charge and weapons offenses. Anderson, of the 1800 block of Tomlinson Road, remains in jail and is ineligible for bail because of the capital charge against him.
According to the statement, Anderson claimed sympathy for the dying Crump, even in the midst of his shooting spree. Police have said that Anderson carried out the murder because Crump, 19, refused to share proceeds from the sale of a stolen video game system. Crump, of the 9900 block of Haldeman Ave., stole the game from a mutual acquaintance of the teens and sold it for $60.
After a night of “hanging out” with other friends at various neighborhood locations, Anderson allegedly led Crump to an industrial construction site at 10175 Northeast Ave., at about 5:30 a.m. As the pair walked through the yard, Anderson allegedly began shooting.
“I shot Daquan once in the back of the head and he fell to the ground. His eyes were still open and he was staring off, like into space,” Anderson allegedly told police. “I couldn’t leave him there and I didn’t want to see him like that. I stood over him and pulled the trigger and shot him in the face until the gun stopped.”
Anderson allegedly used a .22-caliber pistol in the slaying. A construction worker discovered Crump’s body at about 7:19 a.m. Police arrested Anderson on Aug. 28 and allegedly recovered the gun inside a refrigerator at his home. Anderson has no criminal history in Philadelphia, according to court records, although police have said he has “two very, very minor priors.”
Anderson is scheduled for a Common Pleas Court arraignment on Oct. 9. ••
