Trial Begins for 2021 Double Homicide

By Jenna Gainsboro [former] - July 11, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On July 10, opening statements and witness testimony were presented in a 2021 double-homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun.

Jalen Browne, 21, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in a fatal shooting on the 100 block of Q Street NW on July 25, 2021. Six individuals were caught in the crossfire; three of whom were uninjured. However, Jovan Hill, 22, and Tariq Riley, 19, suffered fatal wounds and later died at MedStar Hospital. A third victim, 22, suffered a gunshot wound to the torso, but survived.

The prosecution presented closed circuit surveillance video from street cameras that allegedly illustrated the shooting and the gunman’s escape. The shooter in the video is wearing clothes similar to the defendant’s and is driving what appears to be his own car.

The motive, according to the prosecution was retaliation for an attempt to steal Browne’s car on February 9, 2021. 

According to prosecutors, given the evidence, the motive and the circumstances, Browne is guilty.

“There are eight billion people on this planet, but the only one who has all of these things is the defendant,” insisted the prosecutor. 

Defense attorney, Douglas Wood, attempted to refute the prosecution’s characterization of Browne’s motive.

“There is going to be no evidence that those individuals knew Jalen Browne,” he insisted. 

According to Wood, there’s no proof any of the six young men targeted in the shooting were involved in the attempted robbery of Browne’s car months before the homicides. 

Wood concluded his opening statement saying, “[Browne] had no motive to shoot and kill these individuals…no motive, no reason, nothing.”

Following opening statements, the victims’ relatives and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who first responded to the scene were called forth by prosecutors.

The prosecution played the officer’s body-worn camera footage of his arriving at the scene and assessing one of the victims’ condition. The graphic video led to an emotional outburst from family members and friends of the victims in the courtroom.

Two family members testified that Hill and Riley were shoot to death on the street where they lived.

The trial is slated to continue on July 11.