The prosecution questioned the veracity of an eyewitness’ testimony that the victim and his mother aimed guns at the defendant. The assertion came during a non-fatal shooting trial before DC Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe on April 28.
Donnell Wells, 36, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault knowingly while armed, five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction greater than one year. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting that injured two individuals on the 500 block of Newcomb Street, SE on Aug. 1, 2024.
Wells’ defense attorney, Brandon Burrell, called upon an eyewitness, Wells’ girlfriend, who lived in the apartment where the shooting occurred. The witness said that the night of the incident, her neighbor banged on the wall between their apartments, walked through the back door without knocking, and started speaking about a previous altercation between her son and Wells. “She just flipped,” said the witness.
The witness testified that she did not see Wells with a firearm, but the mother and her son, who had followed her into the apartment, each had a gun aimed at Wells who had his hands up. The witness said she then cut off the lights, ran toward the front of the apartment, hid in a closet, and heard eight-to-ten gunshots.
During cross examination, the prosecution alleged that the witness never saw the victim and his mother with guns. Prosecutors played a phone call between Wells and the witness in which she allegedly said “I ain’t know that bitch had a f***ing gun…She had one and he had one?” They asked the witness to explain inconsistencies between the call and her testimony and she repeated that the mother and son had guns aimed at Wells.
During questioning, the witness admitted that Wells allegedly told her he shot the son and his uncle.
The prosecution called the lead detective in the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) who described the apartment where the shooting occurred, as “extremely disheveled.” The witness elaborated that he saw cartridge casings and a revolver on the floor, in addition to evidence that bullets had been shot into the walls. The detective also said that MPD recovered a Glock inside a children’s backpack.
The detective said no evidence of firearms was found in the other apartment, where one of the victim’s resided with his mother. According to the detective, the mother gave MPD permission to search her apartment but they were unable to because the son refused and the search warrant was declined.
During cross examination by Burrell, the detective confirmed that evidence showed two different guns were fired in the apartment where the shooting occurred, and that he could not eliminate the possibility of weapons in the victims’ residence.
According to court documents, a crawl space connected the apartment where the shooting occurred to the apartment directly below. The detective said in the apartment below, he observed blood spatter near the walls and crawl space, broken glass, and a shirt on the ground that appeared to have been used to wipe the floor.
The detective also testified that individuals at Spar Liquor, located on the 3900 block of South Capitol Street, SE, called 911 on Wells’ behalf on the day of the shooting, and he was subsequently taken to the hospital. Prosecutors played surveillance videos of the rear and front parking lots of the store, in which the detective identified Wells walking towards the store and two individuals carrying Wells in a later video clip.
According to court documents, Spar Liquor is approximately 1.6 miles away from the location of the shooting.
The trial is scheduled to resume on April 29.
