A 27-year-old Alexandria man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his former roommate has pleaded not guilty and now awaits a jury’s verdict.
Damontie Earl James has been held without bond since he was arrested for shooting and killing 29-year-old Kory Anding at James’ sister’s apartment at 3450 Berkeley Street in the West End on Oct. 25, 2025.
Fahreena Siddiqui, James’ attorney, said her client was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Anding, who was prohibited by a protective order from being near the property and James’ sister.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Martin told the jury in closing statements Thursday (May 21) that Anding did not have to die and that James made “purposeful and intentional choices” when he went to the apartment with a handgun.
“The defendant cannot say I’m without fault when I chose to get my gun and go upstairs and outnumber the person that I’m upset with, outnumber the person that has assaulted me in the past, outnumber the person that I am saying hits my sister,” Martin said.
How the shooting happened
Anding first arrived at the apartment just after 10 p.m. and called police to report that any calls made against him were erroneous, and that he was being assaulted by James’ sister inside the apartment. Anding was told by a dispatcher that no one had called 911 complaining about him, according to court records.
When police arrived, neither Anding nor James’ sister answered the door.
Anding did, however, record a video inside the apartment in which he allegedly assaults James’ sister, court records say.
Anding has children with James’ sister, and she frequently allowed him to visit despite the protective order. In video from the hallway outside the apartment, James’ sister is seen leaving and then returning with two of her brothers, including James.
In a separate case, Anding pleaded guilty in 2023 to wounding James with a machete, and as part of a plea agreement was sentenced to time served on a charge of unlawful wounding.
The three re-entered the apartment to find that Anding had locked himself in a bathroom. At 10:54 p.m., Anding called 911 to report that James was pointing a gun at him. Moments later, a single gunshot was heard.
At 10:56 p.m., James called 911 to report that he had just shot and killed a man who was physically harming his sister. In video played in court, James told investigators that Anding made a motion as if reaching for something behind his back and that he feared it was a machete. Anding had in fact pulled out pepper spray, and James was later treated at the hospital for pepper spray to his eyes.
“I was expecting a machete,” James told investigators after his arrest. “He was reaching, so I reached, and I was expecting machete.”
He also told police he has a concealed carry permit and removed his gun from the glove box of his car before entering the apartment.
Siddiqui said the angle of the bullet indicates Anding lunged at James, his brother and his sister — Anding was shot in the top of the head and the bullet was found lodged in his chest. She also said James feared for his life and urinated on himself.
“This is just straight up self-defense,” Siddiqui said. “He [James] fired one shot, he fired only when he was maced, when he thought he was about to be attacked.”
James was found by police outside the apartment and was arrested without incident.
Attorneys delivered closing arguments Thursday, and the jury is expected to render its verdict Friday.
