A shooting defendant’s relatives testified about the damage done to their family in a flash of violence before DC Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean on Sept. 17.
Larry Carr, 21, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, six counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license.
The charges are in connection to Carr’s alleged involvement in the Oct. 22, 2023 nonfatal shooting of his cousin, at the 100 block of Ridge Road, SE.
The defendant’s 13-year-old cousin, who was present at the time of the shooting, was called to the witness stand.
Prosecution first asked the witness to describe the scene leading up to the shooting. She explained that she was watching TV in the living room with Carr, who was asleep.
The victim, the witness’ uncle, then entered the home, which is when the witness described the altercation began.
The witness said Carr stood up from the couch, and began arguing with the victim, who was also yelling at Carr. She depicted Carr’s expression as “angry,” and said he eventually began reaching for his right hip, brandishing a gun that was tucked into his waist so only the trigger half was visible.
When the witness began to see Carr “be more aggressive” by pulling out the weapon, she explained that she went upstairs to alert her mother of the escalating situation.
The witness then stayed upstairs for the remainder of the incident, trying to care for her younger sibling who was upset by the yelling downstairs. She described having to play music in order to calm him down.
After describing the altercation, the prosecution asked the witness what her emotions were after the fact.
“I was younger then, not like I am now,” the witness said, referencing the fact that, unlike now, she was completely unaware of any preexisting disagreements or violent behavior in her family.
When asked about her relationship with Carr, the witness explained they used to be extremely close. “That was my dog, man,” she said, sharing that they used to do everything together. After the altercation, “I didn’t know who he was anymore,” the witness shared. She couldn’t even look at the defendant, the witness stated.
During the teen’s testimony, the defendant became visibly upset and started crying. Defense attorney Teresa Kleiman asked the court for a brief break, and Judge McLean agreed.
Afterward, Kleiman cross examined the witness, focusing on the fact that the victim did not reside at the Ridge Road home, and that she did not see the actual shooting occur, only the events leading up to it.
The prosecution also called the witness’ mother to testify. She testified about stepping in-between Carr and the victim, who is her brother, moments before the shooting.
“He reached his arm up around my face and he pulled the trigger,” the witness said.
Prosecutors played a recorded 911 call the witness made immediately after the shooting, in which the witness can be heard screaming that her brother had been shot and asking for the operator to send help to her apartment.
The witness testified to having helped raise Carr and said that their extended family was extremely close until August of 2023, when her brother, the victim, allegedly exposed himself to Carr’s young sister. He has since been indicted for that incident and another in which he allegedly sexually assaulted a disabled minor on a bus.
Kleiman focused her cross examination on the souring relationship between Carr and the victim, who, the witness said, showed up at Carr’s workplace after Carr made comments about him on Instagram.
The witness testified that the victim told Carr that “one of us is not going to make it out this living room,” minutes before the shooting, repeating a statement similar to the one the defense used in their opening arguments.
When prosecutors asked the witness about her relationship with Carr and his relatives after the shooting, she responded, “I guess we’re not family.”
Another witness, the responding officer, described the moments immediately following the shooting.
The officer arrived less than five minutes after the 911 call was placed, and was met with a “chaotic” scene.
“People were screaming, crying, and point[ing] for me to go inside the building,” to where the victim was lying, the officer testified.
The officer’s bodyworn camera footage was introduced as evidence, and the court watched the officer run inside to find the victim moaning in a pool of blood, “gasping for air,” according to the officer.
“Help, bro,” the victim yelled, visibly struggling.
The officer shared that he found a knife under the victim. The knife, which was later shown to the jury, was in the shape of an approximately four inch handgun. The officer described having to examine the weapon before determining that it was only a knife, removing the weapon from the floor and placing it nearby.
The jury was later shown images of the crime scene where the knife and shell casing could still be seen on the floor, near pools of blood and vomit.
The trial is set to resume Sept. 18.
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Aiden Mellon & Elizabeth Twardock
