A jury in DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt’s courtroom heard opening statements and multiple witnesses testify on May 14.
Myron Hickson, 36, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business, for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Maurice Frazier on Oct. 28, 2022. The incident occurred in an apartment building on the 900 block of Bellevue Street, SE.
“Myron Hickson shot and killed Maurice Frazier… this was personal,” prosecutors said in their opening statements. According to the prosecution, Frazier, who was in a relationship with Hickson’s baby mama, sustained gunshot wounds to the chest, genitals, arm and head.
Prosecutors claimed that Hickson arrived at Frazier’s girlfriend’s home at 2:40 a. m. on the morning of the incident, banging on the door while the woman’s four kids slept in the apartment. When Frazier told Hickson “you can see your son tomorrow,” prosecutors argued, Hickson wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“This is no accident, this is no mistake,” the prosecution insisted, adding “Myron Hickson is the man that killed Maurice Frazier for no reason.” Prosecutors claimed Hickson was fixated on a love triangle that did not necessarily include Frazier, but rather any man Frazier’s girlfriend would date.
However, Matthew Besman, Hickson’s attorney, disagreed with the prosecution. “When Maurice Frazier pulled his gun, Myron Hickson had no choice. He feared for his life” Besman said, adding Hickson “acted in lawful self-defense.”
According to Besman, Hickson was trying to drop off money for his child, whose mother Hickson was trying to have a better co-parenting relationship with, when Frazier “came out angry, irritated, and armed.”
“Even though it was three in the morning, [Hickson] decided to drop [the money] off to fulfill his responsibilities,” Besman argued, adding “He couldn’t have known what was waiting for him on the other side of the door.”
According to Besman, Hickson saw a version of Frazier “he had never seen,” which allegedly prompted Hickson to tell Frazier to calm down.
“Myron Hickson had no choice. He fired because he thought he was going to die. This isn’t personal, it’s survival,” Besman insisted.
Following opening statements, prosecutors called on Frazier’s girlfriend and Hickson’s baby mama to testify. She testified that her and Hickson’s baby was born in January of 2021, but they broke up because “it was too much for me.”
According to Frazier’s girlfriend, she and Hickson attempted to co-parent, but had a few issues. She recalled a specific issue on Dec. 25, 2021, when Hickson allegedly showed up at her house unannounced and under the influence. According to the witness, Hickson was “belligerent, talking trash.”
She added they ended up “getting into it,” and Hickson pushed her to the ground while she carried their 11-month-old baby. Her older children, she testified, were petrified as Hickson kept pulling his shirt up. However, she testified, she didn’t see a weapon that day.
According to the witness, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to the scene on Christmas morning, but it is unclear if Hickson was arrested.
Frazier’s girlfriend also testified that in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, she and Frazier were at her apartment folding laundry, preparing themselves for her graduation later that morning.
She testified that Frazier was “actively involved,” in her and her children’s lives, so it wasn’t rare for him to spend the night at her apartment.
According to Frazier’s girlfriend, they dozed off in the living room, and were awakened by banging at the door. She testified she got up, looked out the peep hole of her door, and realized Hickson was the one knocking. “I eased back so he didn’t hear me,” she recalled.
She testified she woke Frazier up, and he went to speak with Hickson outside the door. “He made sure I was okay,” she recalled, adding Frazier told Hickson “Your son is sleeping, you can see him tomorrow.”
She added the door closed, and she was unable to hear anything else. “I felt that they were talking too long,” she stated, remembering she went to the door and heard gunshots.
Frazier’s girlfriend stated she waited to open the door for a few seconds out of fear. “It was just silent,” she recalled, adding, “[Maurice] was just laying lifeless right there… I was trying to talk to him.”
Prosecutors played her 911 call, where she could be heard begging “Please, help me. Oh my god, Maurice.”
Prosecutors also played body-worn camera from the first responding officer, where Frazier’s girlfriend could be heard telling him “my son’s father killed him.”
Due to time constraints, Frazier’s girlfriend will conclude her testimony May 15.
Prosecutors also called on the first responding officer, who testified he responded to the scene after being dispatched for a shooting. According to the officer, he was met by an “upset and crying,” woman who told her “my son’s father did it.”
According to the officer, he located Frazier face down in front of the door to an apartment. He testified he provided CPR to Frazier, requested an ambulance, and notified MPD’s Violent Crime Branch (VCB), which includes the homicide branch. He added Frazier was pronounced dead at the scene, despite life saving efforts.
Parties are slated to reconvene May 15.
