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By
Laura Berol
- October 22, 2024
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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The lead Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective investigating a homicide case testified that suspect of a fatal shooting was identified through Ring video footage before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan on Oct. 18.
Nelson Bryant, 32, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the death of Townsend Reginald Sowell, 46, on Sept. 2 on the 2800 block of 7th Street, NE.
The prosecutor showed Ring video footage of a man shooting across an athletic field early in the morning on May 26. The detective said the person in the Ring video resembled Bryant as he appeared in a photo and a video MPD recovered from the defendant’s phone with a search warrant.
The detective identified Bryant in the courtroom and said he was recognizable because of a tattoo on his arm.
The lead detective told the court he found Sowell suffering from approximately five bullet wounds with no signs of life when he arrived at the scene in response to reports of gunshots.
MPD obtained surveillance video footage that showed an individual, later identified as Bryant, in an argument with Sowell a few minutes before the shooting, the detective said.
After Sowell walked away, the detective testified, the individual identified as Bryant met up with another man. The two of them moved quickly in the direction of the place where Sowell’s body was found, out of sight of the camera.
The detective said other people in the video visibly reacted to the sound of gunfire. Then the individual identified as Bryant came back into view of the camera, running away from the scene of the shooting.
According to the detective, the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) indicated cartridge casings found near Sowell’s body might have been shot from the same gun used in shootings on May 26 and 27.
The detective’s testimony is scheduled to continue when parties next convene.
Bryant’s defense attorney, Jason Tulley, told the court he may also have a witness to call for the preliminary hearing.
The next hearing is set for Oct. 28.