DA sticks with one suspect in brick killing

Ed Koch and Kim Smith

Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.

A Clark County prosecutor today defended the decision to focus on one suspect in the slaying of a man with a brick, even though a grand jury was told by eyewitnesses that others participated.

"Lots of people see different things," Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said of the Jan. 7 incident that left one man dead and another seriously injured after they crashed their truck through a brick wall at a West Charleston Boulevard apartment complex.

"But we do have one witness who sees (Usman) Sadiq raise a brick three times in the altercation involving the victim who died."

Sadiq, 19, is charged with murder, attempted murder and battery causing substantial bodily harm.

"We believe there were other people involved, but we don't know who they are," Schwartz said. "Sadiq's admitted to being involved, though. He's admitted to having parts of that wall in his hands."

Kristopher Gregory, 21, died in the early evening incident. Jesse Covington, 24, who also was in the truck that crashed into a wall at the Sundance Village Apartments near Rainbow and Charleston boulevards, was released from a hospital on Jan. 30.

Jerome Vital, a resident of the apartments, told the grand jury: "I got a full view through the break in the wall of a man with a brick. (He) threw a brick onto the man on the ground."

Michael Chisholm, owner of a dance studio 75 yards from the incident, told the grand jury he saw two men beating on one of the victims while a second fight was happening.

Chisholm "focused on the further one back, where one of the males proceeded to lift a block, multiple pieces of block wall ... over his head and drop it on the male that was lying on the concrete in front of the truck."

Chisholm testified that the rock was dropped "probably three or four times" on the victim.

Sadiq's attorney, Cal Potter, was in court this morning and unavailable for comment. He has said in prior interviews that the facts in the case "just don't add up."