The highly anticipated testimony of Washington, a 36-year-old career criminal with a string of assault and drug arrests, began yesterday, the second day of testimony in the trial of Edward Washington, Kimani’s cousin, and Moore, 34, who are accused of the killings, among the worst in the city in a decade.
Kimani Washington spoke for 2 1/2 hours about the events that he said led to the killings. He spoke before a courtroom packed with reporters and relatives of the victims. At one point, he glared at Moore, who stared back and shook his head.
Kimani Washington acknowledged that in exchange for his testimony, he had agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. If a judge agrees, he would be sentenced to 16 to 18 years in prison for his role in the robbery, but would not be charged with murder.
Lawyers for the defendants have said Kimani Washington is lying to save himself.
Under direct examination by Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Edmond Zabin, Kimani Washington matter-of-factly testified to his ability to get a “hammer’’ (a gun), how he downed liquor and smoked pot in the hours before the crime, and of his appetite for stealing.
According to his testimony, he and Moore hatched the plan to rob somebody in summer 2010.
Moore, who had met Kimani Washington in jail, had been complaining of how hard it was to make money. Kimani Washington agreed.
On Sept. 27, 2010, the day before the shooting, Kimani Washington said, he heard again from Moore.
“He said he had a lick . . . somebody that we could rob,’’ he said.
Kimani Washington said he could get the guns.
That day, they met at Kimani Washington’s family home on Fowler Street, where Edward Washington was also hanging out, according to the testimony.
There had been friction between the cousins. Earlier that summer, Kimani Washington said, they had fought on their way home from a club, and he had beaten his cousin badly.
Edward Washington’s lawyer, John Cunha, has said the two cousins hate each other.
But Kimani Washington said yesterday that they had “patched things up.’’
