Trial begins for Edmonds man accused in January 2024 fatal shooting of rideshare driver

The trial of a 22-year-old Edmonds man accused of fatally shooting a rideshare driver in January 2024 got underway in Snohomish County Superior Court Thursday. Alex Matthew Waggoner faces charges of second-degree murder after allegedly shooting rideshare driver Abdikadir Gedi Shariif at the intersection of 236th Street Southwest and Edmonds Way just after 10 p.m. Jan. 3, 2024.

In his opening statement, Snohomish County prosecuting attorney Bob Langbehn told the jury that Shariif had just dropped off a customer in Edmonds when nearly hitting Waggoner while making a left turn from 236th Street onto Edmonds Way. The car’s dashcam video showed Shariif trying to apologize, but Waggoner responded by firing his pistol at him eight times. As Shariif slumped to one side, his car drifted forward before three more shots were fired. 

Langbehn also described how the police tried to save Shariif’s life before he was transported to Harborview Medical Center. Police used a K-9 unit to track a suspect to the area of the Edmonds Highlands apartments, where Waggoner lived. Detectives later recovered Ring camera footage from the defendant’s apartment, showing him leaving around the time of the shooting and returning to his home a few minutes after. Police found a 9-millimeter gold and black handgun in the suspect’s possession, which matched the 11 shell casings recovered at the scene.

Langbehn said that Waggoner was interviewed by Edmonds Det. Patrick Clark. Waggoner initially told Clark that he had not left his apartment the day of the shooting but later confessed he had, saying he was frightened and had overreacted to the incident after drinking a bottle of Hennessy. The prosecutor said Waggoner expressed remorse and wrote an apology letter to Shariif’s family, claiming he wouldn’t have acted the way he did if he hadn’t been drunk.

“At the end of this trial, you will come to two irrefutable conclusions,” Langbehn said to the jury. “Number one, Mr. Shariif is dead because he tried to say I’m sorry. Number two, this was not self defense. This was murder.”

Defense attorney Aleksandrea Johnson provided the jury with background on Waggoner, stating he worked at Domino’s Pizza and lived with his girlfriend Angelique and her dad. Waggoner has a strong interest in firearms and self-defense, and he owned his guns legally, Johnson said. Waggoner had consumed alcohol the day of the shooting and was walking to Safeway when the incident occurred, the defense attorney said.

Johnson told the jury that Waggoner did not see a blinker on Shariif’s Prius and thought the vehicle was going straight. After he shot at Shariif, Waggoner ran back to his apartment and told Angelique what happened.

Johnson added that the defense will focus on the “mere seconds” in Waggoner’s mind before and during the incident over the next several days. “[The officers and witnesses] didn’t experience Alex’s mind…that moment where instincts and fear and adrenaline, where Alex thought that an unknown driver – with potentially unknown passengers [armed with a] gun – was trying to kill him,” she said. “Even though Alex made a horrible decision, he would do anything to change the situation and bring Mr. Shariif back. He still acted in self defense when he locked eyes with someone whom he thought was trying to kill him, someone he thought intentionally was trying to run him over.”

The jury also heard testimony from witnesses who said they heard the gunshots and saw the suspect running away from the scene. 

Long Nguyen was driving his mother to work when he saw a white car nearly hit a pedestrian at Edmonds Way and 236th Street Southwest. He told the jury he saw the pedestrian pull a gun and fire about “10 shots” at the vehicle. He said the car then lost control and crashed into the side of the road. Nguyen stopped his car nearby and called 911.

Witness Elliot Ferguson said he was walking his dogs near the intersection of Edmonds Way and 238th Street when he heard yelling and gunfire. He saw a white Prius with a shattered back window and estimated the car was about 200 to 300 feet away from him. Ferguson said he initially thought the noise was fireworks. He ran to the scene and found a semi-conscious man in the driver’s seat, who appeared to have been shot. 

Speaking through a Russian interpreter, witness Zhanna Burlechenko said she was walking with her husband from downtown Edmonds when they heard yelling and then gunfire. She said she pushed her husband into nearby bushes, and they both took cover. She said they were about 40 meters away from the incident, and the shooter was wearing dark clothes and a hoodie. Then she said they both saw the shooter running north on Edmonds Way.

Witness Monica Thompson, who lives in an apartment east of Edmonds Way, said she heard gunshots around 10 p.m. and then saw a man running “into the woods” toward Edmonds Highland apartments. She said the man wore a Carhartt jacket with a hoodie and “thicker” shoes. 

Lynnwood police officer Matthew Saul said he was the first on the scene and tried to save Shariif’s life. His body cam video showed Saul taking Shariif out of the Prius and bandaging his head before paramedics arrived.

Three Edmonds police officers, including K-9 Unit Officers Katie Ballard and Joshua Hwang and Det. Cpl. Robert Allen, described for the jury the practice of dog handling, how dogs track scent, crime scene preservation and evidence gathering.

Edmonds Police Det. Stacie Trykar said that during the investigation, she recognized the suspect’s shoes in the Ring video as Sk8-Hi Vans. On Jan. 10, she found shoes matching that description during a search of the suspect’s apartment. 

Edmonds Det. Julie Govantes said she had reviewed the dash cam videos in Shariif’s car, including the last rideshare fares who were dropped off near the Edmonds Way and 236th Street intersection minutes before the shooting. 

The trial ended for the day after Langbehn showed the jury the dashcam videos of Shariif being shot. Judge Richard Okrent told the jury the trial will resume at 9 a.m. Monday, July 14., when the defense is expected to share the interview between Waggoner and Clark.