JUST IN: Jury finds Alexandria man guilty of manslaughter in West End shooting

A jury has found Damontie Earl James guilty of voluntary manslaughter when he shot and killed his former roommate Kory Anding in an apartment in Alexandria’s West End.

“”I am satisfied with the verdict,” James’ brother, Tavaris James, told ALXnow outside the courthouse. “I wish they could have come back with a not guilty verdict, of course, but weighing all the options that it could have been, I feel like this verdict is okay for the family.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter said that his office will seek a “substantial” period of incarceration.

“My thoughts go out to the family of the victim in this senseless shooting,” Porter said. “I respect the jury’s decision to convict on the lesser-included offense of manslaughter, likely due to a series of interactions between the victim and the defendant prior to the date of the crime. It is never acceptable to resort to self-help when it comes to interpersonal disputes carrying the potential of violence, and the jury’s reasoned verdict reflects the stark fact that the defendant’s intentional acts caused this tragedy. The defendant remains incarcerated pending sentencing, and my office will seek a substantial period of incarceration at sentencing hearing.”

Voluntary manslaughter is a Class 5 felony in Virginia punishable by one to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine. Shooting in an occupied dwelling is a Class 6 felony punishable by one to five years in prison and a fine up to $2,500.

Anding was prohibited by a protective order from being near the property and James’ sister, although she would allow him to visit the children. Around 10 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2025, Anding arrived at the fifth floor apartment and refused to leave, according to court records. While no calls were made against him to police, Anding called 911 and told an operator that any calls made against him were erroneous, and that he was being assaulted by James’ sister.

When police arrived, neither Anding nor James’ sister answered the door. Anding did, however, record a video inside the apartment in which he allegedly assaulted James’ sister, according to video from Anding’s phone that was played in court.

In surveillance video from the hallway outside the apartment, James’ sister left Anding in the apartment and then returned with two of her brothers, including James. Inside the apartment, Anding barricaded himself in a bathroom, then opened the bathroom door and was repeatedly heard on audio from the hallway camera asking if they wanted to fight.

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. Two minutes later, James called 911 and reported that he had 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 pulled out pepper spray, and James was later treated at a hospital for pepper spray exposure to his eyes.

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.

“I was expecting a machete,” James told investigators after his arrest. “He was reaching, so I reached, and I was expecting a machete.”

James was found by police outside the apartment and arrested without incident.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Joseph Martin and Ashtyn McDaniel, and James was represented by Fahreena Siddiqui.

Alexandria Circuit Court Judge Kathleen M. Uston presided over the case. ALXnow has reached out to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for a statement.