Witness Says She Never Saw Co-Defendant With Firearm in Homicide Trial of a Ten-Year-Old

By Adrianna Bhan [former] , Emily Reed [former], Sofia Feigelson [former] - June 26, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Shooting | Suspects |

During the second day of trial for a multi-codefendant homicide case, the prosecution brought seven witnesses to the stand before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun.

One of the witnesses, who was familiar with one of the co-defendants, said she has never seen the defendant with a firearm, despite following him on Instagram where he is allegedly pictured with firearms.

Mark Price, 29, and Antonio Murchison, 31, are charged with first-degree murder while armed, five counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, seven counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy, and seven counts of criminal gang affiliation. The charges stem from their alleged involvement in a mass shooting on July 16, 2018, on the 5300 block of 53rd Street, NE in the Clay Terrace neighborhood. The incident left 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson dead and four other individuals with gunshot wounds. 

Price is also charged with another murder. Charges for the other incident include first-degree murder while armed, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, threat to injure or kidnap a person, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict and first-degree burglary while armed. These charges are connected to the fatal shooting of 47-year-old Andre Hakim Young on July 30, 2018, on the 1500 block of 19th Street, NE. 

The third co-defendant, Quanisha Ramsuer, 31, is charged with obstruction of justice in connection to the homicide.

Six other defendants were convicted in 2023 of charges from the Maliyah Wilson incident, including:

• Marquell Cobbs, 22 – sentenced to serve 6 years in prison
• Quentin Michals, 27 – sentenced to serve 40 years in prison
• Gregory Taylor, 28 – sentenced to serve 65 years in prison
• Qujuan Thomas, 25– sentenced to 68 years in prison
•  Darrise Jeffers, 24 – sentenced to serve 35 years in prison
• Isaiah Murchison, 24 – sentenced to serve  60 years in prison 

At the hearing on June 25, the witness, who was the sister of Price’s deceased best friend, Maleak Coffin, told Megan Allburn, Price’s attorney, that she had never seen Price with a firearm.

Price’s best friend, also known as “Poppy,” died in December 2017.

According to the prosecution’s opening arguments, Price became significantly more involved in the alleged “beef” between the neighborhoods after Coffin’s death.

Before her brother’s death, the witness said Price was in the hospital for a broken leg at the same time her brother was there. The reasons for Price’s injury were not disclosed in court.

The witness stated she is a cousin of Quentin Michals, and Quincy Garvin and that she knows of an individual that goes by the name “Goonie Moonie,” a suspect who is believed to be a member of the Wellington Park Crew.  Garvin was convicted of murder last year.

Michals, 26, and Garvin, 23, were found guilty of first-degree murder, criminal street gang affiliation, conspiracy, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with intent to kill, and other charges regarding Wilson’s death.

The witness was able to identify individuals associated with Wellington Park, including an individual she knows as “Gizzle,” who has been identified as Gregory Taylor; an individual she knows as “Zay,” identified as Isaiah Murchison; an individual she knows as “Stello,” identified as Marquell Cobbs; and Qujuan Thomas and Darrise Jeffers. 

The witness stated she did not know the name of Isaiah ’s brothers, and failed to identify Antonio in the courtroom.

However, the witness was able to identify Price in the courtroom, stating that she went to school with him. She claimed that although she and Price followed each other on Instagram, she did not communicate with him frequently on the app.

Prosecuting attorneys asked the witness if she knew the man who allegedly sold a black Infiniti car to the Wellington Park Crew, which has been identified as the vehicle Price allegedly drove to and from the shooting. The witness stated he was an acquaintance of Maleak’s, saying she could identify him but did know him personally.

When testifying about the day of the incident, the witness stated it was her birthday and that she visited her brother’s grave before going to Wellington Park around 8 p.m.

She testified that she saw a group of guys “listening to music and dancing” in the parking lot of Wellington Park, adding that “everyone was having a good time.” She claimed she did not see Price, adding that she did not see Thomas or Taylor, either, but recalled seeing Michals. 

The prosecution showed images where the witness, Michals, and other individuals were pictured in Michals’ apartment in Wellington Park, but she was unable to identify everyone. The prosecution questioned her claiming to not know the individuals, given she was hanging out with them on her birthday. 

“Is [Michals] hanging out with me, or the people in the video?” the witness asked.

She also stated that although she was from another neighborhood, she was able to frequent Wellington Park without any problems. 

In addition to this witness, the prosecution also called five members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) – an officer, two detectives, a specialist in crime camera evidence, and an employee working in the Communications Department.

The officer’s body-worn camera footage was presented to jurors, which showed his arrival on the scene. Two victims were lying on the ground amidst a crowd of people chaotically surrounding them. In addition, a still shot photo of his body-worn camera was shown of Wilson receiving CPR, while her older sister, who testified yesterday, was holding her hand.

A detective testified about his knowledge of the Wellington Park area and identified a group of individuals that would regularly hang out with each other, including Michals, Aaron, Isaiah, and an individual known as “Goonie Moonie.”

In photographs presented to him, the officer allegedly identified Antonio, Taylor, Michals, Thomas, Jeffers, and Garvin. He also identified the individual known as “Goonie Moonie,” who he acknowledged as a rapper and resident of Wellington Park.

The detective said that the day before the shooting he observed “Goonie Moonie” and his friends with firearms in an Instagram post. While patrolling, he saw a vehicle that looked similar to the one he observed but stated it fled. Officers pulled “Goonie Moonie” over in his car, but no firearms were found. 

During cross examination, both Steven Ogilvie, representing Antonio, and Allburn clarified that their clients were identified as  passengers in “Goonie Moonie’s” car.

The other detective testified that he executed a search warrant on Sept. 28, 2017, at an apartment. He said  the “target” of the warrant was the individual known as “Goonie Moonie,” but stated that four individuals were found in the apartment, including Garvin.

The detective confirmed two iPhones, which were presented by the prosecution, were items recovered during the search. He also mentioned that three boxes of .57 caliber ammunition were also recovered.

Parties are slated to resume trial on June 26.