DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman disputed photo and expert witness evidence during a felony status conference on June 6.
Daniel Chapman, 27, is charged with second-degree murder while armed and carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or business for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing of 43-year-old Antoine Ealey on July 22, 2023 on the 2300 block of L’Enfant Square, SE.
In grand jury testimony, a witness told police they found the victim “stabbed up” in an alleyway.
David Knight, Chapman’s attorney, argued against admitting that witness’s testimony into evidence, saying it would influence jurors’ emotions without adding information about the case, since the witness said that they believed that the victim was stabbed but they weren’t sure.
Judge Edelman ruled that the grand jury witness would be allowed to testify only to their interpretation. Anything else would constitute hearsay.
The defense did not object to another key piece of evidence, the surveillance camera footage from the scene of the crime documenting an altercation that aligned with what the witnesses claimed.
“It narrows the time frame between the conflict and when the police arrived at the scene,” the prosecution pointed out.
Judge Edelman concluded that the footage had probative value in that could substantiate a fact and allowed it to be entered as evidence.
Knight also objected to photographs of the victim that displayed his colostomy bag, a detail that Knight argued would create more sympathy for the victim. The victim’s eyes were also covered by the prosecution, despite the fact that the victim hadn’t suffered any head injuries thus ruled admissible.
Judge Edelman delayed ruling on whether images of the colostomy bag would be allowed.
The prosecution planned to call a witness who works for the company that manufactures a stun gun allegedly used by the victim during the altercation. The weapon emits a painful electrical charge, though less than a Taser. While the prosecution wanted to display the functions of the stun gun, they also wanted to compare the gun’s effects relative to more powerful models.
The judge ruled that the witness can testify only about the type of stun gun the victim used and not other models.
The defense objected to numerous pictures of Chapman provided by the prosecution, arguing they could mislead jurors and spark prejudice. One picture showed Chapman wearing a shirt that read “High.”
Judge Edelman concluded that the photos don’t carry negative associations and so they won’t be excluded, except for an old mugshot of Chapman.
Parties are slated to reconvene on June 9.
