Edmonds man found guilty in 2024 shooting of rideshare driver

A Snohomish County Superior Court jury Wednesday found Edmonds resident Alex Matthew Waggoner, 22, guilty of second-degree murder in the January 2024 shooting of 31-year-old rideshare driver Abdikadir Gedi Shariif. The 12-member jury reached the verdict after about three hours of deliberation.

Judge Richard Okrent scheduled Waggoner’s sentencing for 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17.

“This was not self-defense; this was murder,” Snohomish County prosecutor Bob Langbehn said in closing arguments prior to the jury receiving the case for deliberation Wednesday.

Langbehn recapped evidence showing that on the night of the Jan. 3, 2024 shooting, the defendant — drunk, armed and dressed in dark clothing — crossed the street and was almost hit by Shariif’s Prius as it turned left onto Edmonds Way. Dashcam footage and witness accounts suggested Shariif tried to apologize after the near-collision, but Waggoner shot 11 times at Shariif. 

Then Langbehn walked the jurors through the video evidence of the shooting, saying that Shariif was driving slowly – checking his phone to see his next fare or destination – and stopped at a red light at 236th Street Southwest and Edmonds Way. He said Waggoner was waiting to cross at the intersection.

In a video that showed Shariif and the back view of the car, “We notice that Mr. Shariif is looking down at this phone,” Langbehn said. “We notice that Alex does not have to dive out of the way. He just sort of hops out of the way. You can see that despite what Mr. Waggoner remembers, that at no point does it appear Mr. Shariif is looking at him and going right at him. He is turning into the nearest lane and Mr. Waggoner is in the middle of the intersection.”

By the time Shariif had rolled down his window and looked back, Langbehn said Waggoner already had his gun out of his waistband and holster and was pointing it at Shariif. He said Waggoner fired multiple times, paused for three seconds, and fired three more times after Shariif slumped over and the car drifted across multiple lanes. The prosecutor noted that Waggoner immediately fled the scene, leaving police with limited information when they arrived.

The prosecutor recounted a list of evidence, including:

• Lynnwood police officer Matthew Saul’s body cam that shows the first aid he provided for Shariif.
• Eleven shell casings that were found at the crime scene.
• Accounts from four witnesses.
• The Edmonds Police K-9 Unit’s search ended near Edmonds Highlands apartments where Waggoner lived.
• Bullet trajectory analysis.
• Ballistics that matched the bullets and casings with the gun that Waggoner used.
• The autopsy that revealed Shariif died from a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was homicide

Langbehn argued that Waggoner repeatedly lied and avoided responsibility in the days following the shooting. He said Waggoner initially told his longtime girlfriend there had been a shooting – without revealing he was the shooter – and allowed her to pay for his rideshares to work and continued daily routines, including an attempt to buy another gun.

“As he told you, the minute he’s arrested, he knew exactly why he was being arrested. So he goes into this interview, and for the first hour, he pretends he has no idea why they’re talking to him,” Langbehn said.

While Waggoner initially lied to the detectives, the prosecutor said the suspect eventually admitted to the shooting, describing his actions as a “horrible decision” and expressing regret, but never claiming he acted in self-defense. Instead, he acknowledged being drunk and he “overreacted.” 

Langbehn emphasized Waggoner’s lack of urgency to come forward, noting that he never told anyone he felt threatened or mistook a phone for a gun. His apology to the victim’s family, he argued, lacked any expression of genuine responsibility or remorse.

Then Langbehn emphasized that the case hinges on what Washington’s self-defense law defines as reasonable self-defense – and argued that Waggoner’s actions were far from it. He said the legal standard allows a person to use deadly force only if they reasonably believe they are facing an imminent threat of death or serious injury, and only if the force used is what a reasonable person would have used under similar circumstances.

He asked the jury to consider whether it was reasonable for Waggoner to assume Shariif, who had slowed down and appeared to be apologizing, was trying to kill him. Was it reasonable, he asked, to respond by littering the street with shell casings and firing recklessly enough to hit an apartment window nearby?

“You have a right to stand your ground, if it’s reasonable, and defend against an attack. Where’s the attack?” Langbehn said.

Defense attorney Jeff Wolfenbarger pointed out that Wagner had no duty to retreat and was entitled to act on the appearance of danger. He added that the defendant’s actions were reasonable given the circumstances and he was entitled to defend himself.

Wolfenbarger said the self-defense law allows people to make a mistake when they are defending themselves. He reminded the jurors of jury instruction number 12: “A person is entitled to act on appearance in defending himself, if he believes in good faith and on reasonable grounds that he is in actual danger of great personal injury, although it afterwards might develop that the person was mistaken as to the extent of the danger. Actual danger is not necessary for the use of force to be lawful.”

Continuing his statement, Wolfenbarger said that the police body cam footage, 911 calls and witness statements do not provide “any helpful information regarding Alex’s intent or whether he acted in self-defense.”

He showed several video still shots of Shariif turning toward the window to apologize while holding his black cellphone in his right hand.

Wolfenbarger told the jury that when they determine “whether Alex acts in self-defense, you must set all that information aside, all the information that Alex would not have known.”

Prosecutor Langbehn pointed to the defendant’s police interview, which contradicted the defense’s self-defense argument. He said that the defendant’s actions were unreasonable, citing Waggoner’s admission of overreacting and the fact that he fired 11 shots.

The prosecutor told jurors that while self-defense is a legitimate legal claim, Waggoner’s actions do not meet the legal standard. He argued that Waggoner’s response – firing 11 shots – was unreasonable given the circumstances, especially since there was no imminent threat from Shariif, and the defendant had time to retreat but chose not to. Langbehn said Waggoner’s own statements and behavior showed clear intent to kill, leaving no reasonable doubt about his guilt.

“He emptied the clip,” Langbehn said. “Everyone who owns a gun knows this. You don’t point at something you’re not intending to destroy. He knew it. Fired that gun 11 times right at him.

“But nothing about the evidence and nothing about what Mr. Waggoner said supports the idea…he had to do it, that it was reasonable for him to do it, and proven that beyond any reasonable doubt,” Langbehn said.