Case Acquitted: Day Two of Murder Trial Delivers Chilling Eye-Witness Testimonies

By Hunter Fernandez [former] - March 24, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

This case was acquitted on Aug. 15, 2023.

Three eyewitness recalled their accounts of the events that lead up to murder on the second day of trial.

Jermaine Washington, 38, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Keon Bonner, 40, on Oct. 26, 2021, in an alley on the 1500 block of Ogden Street NW. 

The victim’s cousin explained March 23 that on the night of the incident, Bonner had planned to spend the night at his cousin’s apartment. On that same night, Washington had come to his apartment and asked if either of them wanted to smoke. Bonner went down to the lobby with Washington to do so while his cousin stayed behind and went back to sleep.

Video footage from the cousin’s apartment building showed Washington and Bonner leaving the building through the lobby, then leaving the front of the building.

Two residents in an apartment building that faced the location of the incident described how they had been awoken by the sounds of two men fighting in the alley. Both did not think much of it as the alley was a common place for illegal drug deals and consumption, drunken fights, and sexual acts.

One resident explained that the first two times he looked out the window, he only saw two men “horsing around,” and decided to go back to bed. Upon looking one more time, the witness saw one of the men on the ground and the other man pacing around him. 

However, the other resident had seen the incident in its entireity. 

When the resident noticed a reflection of what appeared to be a knife in the hand of one of the men and what appeared to be blood on the surrounding area, he realized the seriousness of the situation. He explained that the man was not punching the other but instead stabbing him. 

The resident also testified that after one of the men was on the ground, the one standing stabbed the victim one more time before using dirt to take the blood off of his hands and knife and fleeing the scene.

The description the resident gave of the victim matched that of Bonner on the night of his murder.

The victim’s cousin explained that Bonner had previously lived with him for about a month before taking up a new residence in Virginia. During their time together, the two cousins had begun regularly seeing Washington, who they knew as JT, while smoking outside of the building.

His cousin also explained that a week before the incident, he had overheard and argument between Washington and Bonner. During the argument, he said he heard Washington say, “I’ll fuck you up.”

A fourth eyewitness was meant to testify at the hearing on Thursday but refused to appear after stating that she had a work commitment. 

Despite the prosecution’s efforts to speak with her employer, the witness still refused to appear in court. 

In response, DC Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz issued a warrant for her arrest and requested that the prosecution “do everything you can to scare her enough,” to appear in court. 

The trial is set to resume on March 27.