Star witness testifies in murder trial
Shaw saw friend kill Zyszkiewicz during carjacking attempt
The prosecution’s star witness in the killing of city building inspector Greg “Ziggy” Zyszkiewicz finally took the witness stand shortly before noon Friday, the fifth day of the trial.
Qhualun D. Shaw is one of three men charged in the crime, and he exchanged glares with his co-defendant Deshaun Scott as Shaw was led into court in chains to testify against his best friend since age 11.
Shaw said they and a third man, Eric Smiley, were driving around on March 22, 2017, in a silver Kia Soul they had carjacked from a woman at a gas station a couple of hours earlier. They were looking to “take a car,” Shaw said, meaning to steal or carjack another car.
Whoever saw a car they wanted would use the sawedoff shotgun Smiley had used to take the Kia, Shaw said. After some futile cruising around the south side, they passed near North 35th and West Cherry streets when Scott, known as Tookie, spotted Zyszkiewicz’s gray Mustang parked on the street.
They stopped across from the Mustang, Shaw said, then he and Scott got out. Shaw said he watched as Scott took the gun and approached the Mustang.
“I seen Tookie point the gun at the white man,” Shaw said. “And he shot him.”
He said Scott returned to the Kia and said the Mustang driver had tried to grab the gun and he panicked and shot. Shaw said he couldn’t see if Zyszkiewicz actually reached for the gun. But he said he was sure Zyszkiewicz was dead.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Lonski asked Shaw how he knew that. “Cause I saw,” he said. Defense attorney Michael Plaisted got permission to use portions of Shaw’s first interview by police to challenge his credibility, after he told Circuit Judge Carolina Stark that several things Shaw had just testified to were at odds with prior statements, like for the first time Friday saying he actually saw the shooting.
“That’s new, that’s different and that’s dramatically different from what he said before,” Plaisted said.
In both Shaw’s first and second interrogation with the police Shaw said he did not see the shot, he only heard it. In addition, Shaw originally claimed Smiley drove a Toyota during an earlier carjacking, but in court Shaw said Scott was the driver.
Shaw was under cross-examination most of the afternoon. Plaisted attempted to paint Shaw as a chronic liar, who was selfishly scapegoating Scott in order to protect himself and Smiley.
Plaisted pointed out that on the day of the homicide, Shaw was out on bail facing a felony charge of operating a vehicle without consent. In addition, Shaw admitted he lied to the police at first. He also agreed that Smiley has a “badass reputation” and naming him as the shooter could cause trouble.
Jurors watched a 25-minute segment of Shaw’s hourlong first interrogation. Detectives tell Shaw that someone admitted to pulling the trigger. Shaw asked, “Who?” and when the detectives asked who he thought had admitted to it, Shaw said, “I don’t know, Little E?”
In the beginning of the interrogation, Shaw had implied Scott wasn’t even around, but later blamed Scott for the fatal shot. Plaisted asked Shaw why he decided to tell detectives Scott was a part of the crime.
“I was starting to tell the truth,” Shaw said.
Shaw admitted he has been promised that at his own sentencing prosecutors will raise his testimony against Scott as a reason for leniency and that he does not plan on testifying in Smiley’s trial, scheduled for later this summer. Shaw is expected to plead guilty to charges of felony murder and attempted armed robbery.
He also conceded that he feels it is important to stick with his original statement that Scott is the killer in order to ensure he gets what the state promised.
Prosecutors rested their case at the end of Shaw’s testimony. The trial will resume Tuesday.
Zyszkiewicz’s friends and family were watching the trial all week.
All three co-defendants were arrested later the day of the shooting. Scott was driving a green Toyota (stolen earlier in March) when he led police on a chase before he crashed and tried to run. About 15 minutes later, Shaw and Smiley were seen in the Kia and also tried to flee before they stopped and ran, but were also arrested.