Val Diggins, the man accused of beating up a key witness in his double-murder trial, was convicted Wednesday by a Hennepin County District Court jury after an afternoon of deliberations.
Diggins, 51, will be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at 2:30 p.m. April 10 before District Judge Tony Leung.
A key witness was Steven Hawkins, who said he heard another man offer to pay Diggins on Oct. 30 for a contract on some people.
Early the next morning, Ira Brown and Charles (Chuckie) Woods-Wilson were shot to death in a crack house down the street. Latisha Esters, Kirsten (Kiki) Childs and Andre Atlas testified that they were in the house that night and identified Diggins as the attacker.
Diggins and Hawkins were mistakenly put in the same holding cell en route to court last week. Deputies saw Diggins smash Hawkins' face into a bench. One heard him say, "That will teach him to snitch." Hawkins, who was in jail briefly on a misdemeanor charge, landed in the hospital. Diggins was convicted of seven counts, including three for the aggravated robberies of Esters, Childs and Atlas. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for Woods-Wilson and two for Brown.
In one of the most dramatic courtroom moments, Woods-Wilson's mother, Catrice Champion, signaled to Diggins as she left the witness stand. She held what looked like a peace sign to her left eye and then pointed at the defendant. She later said it was the warning sign of "an eye for an eye." As the verdicts were read, Diggins dropped his head into his hand.
Defense lawyer Rick Trachy said, "Mr. Diggins is disappointed."
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
