DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz denied a motion for acquittal of one charge and decided to wait to rule on another for a woman convicted in a mass shooting on Oct. 3.
Toyia Johnson, 53, was convicted of accessory after the fact and tampering with physical evidence for her involvement in assisting other defendants with discarding evidence and avoiding arrest following a mass shooting that occurred on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW on Sept. 4, 2021. The shooting killed 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson, 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner, and three others were injured.
Mussay Rezene, 32, was convicted on the same charges as Johnson.
Erwin Dubose, 31, Kamar Queen, 28, Damonta Thompson, 28, and William Johnson-Lee, 23, were convicted of conspiracy, premeditated first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, among other charges, for their involvement in the mass shooting.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Johnson provided the shooters the car that was used in the shooting, and reported it stolen when Dubose told her to.
According to court documents, Johnson filed a motion for judgment of acquittal in June, before her conviction. Johnson’s defense attorney, David Akulian, argued that the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence to support that she acted as an accessory to the assault with intent to kill charge against Dubose. He also argued that there is not enough evidence that she actually assisted with the crime and tried to hinder Dubose’s arrest, trial or punishment for that charge.
The prosecution argued that she reported the car stolen after a phone call from Dubose, during which he told Johnson that it was used during the murders. However, they do not have a recording of the call.
Body-worn camera footage of the conversation between a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer and Johnson when she reported the car stolen showed the officer telling Johnson that the suspected black Honda was used in a “triple murder.” This wording is at the center of Johnson’s motion for acquittal.
Akulian argued that the officer saying it was a triple murder does not indicate who committed it, if weapons were used and if anyone else was injured but not killed during the incident. According to Akulian, Johnson’s conviction is connected to assault with intent to kill and not murder, and there is not enough evidence from the footage to prove she knew that the incident was also a non-fatal shooting.
The prosecution opposed this argument, saying that “it is a reasonable inference” that she knew the shooting killed some and injured others. They said that they have evidence that Johnson had consciousness of guilt, as she stopped messaging Dubose on Instagram after the incident.
Judge Kravitz said this evidence makes it a closer question, but he sees both sides.
“I think the defense has a pretty strong argument,” he said.
Akulian said that Johnson would have had to have knowledge of each element of assault with intent to kill, saying the officer did not tell her the car was used in the Longfellow shooting. Kravitz questioned this argument.
However, Kravitz said there is sufficient evidence to prove Johnson knew the car was used in a serious crime and lied to the officer when she reported it stolen. He said this disproves the argument that there is not enough evidence that she actually assisted and intended to hinder the investigation, since she tried to interfere.
Akulian also argued that there is not enough evidence that Johnson knew there was an official proceeding underway and that she tampered with the evidence to conceal it. Kravitz denied that aspect of the motion, saying she lied to the officer.
Kravitz denied the motion for acquittal in regards to the tampering charge, but told the parties to file briefs of their arguments in mid-October so he can review the arguments and make a final decision for the accessory charge, as it could affect Johnson’s sentencing. The sentencing for Johnson and the other co-defendants is scheduled for Oct. 30.
Akulian said that if there is not enough evidence, she could be sentenced to probation only and will appeal her case if Judge Kravitz does not grant her motion.
“She will be exercising her constitutional rights,” Akulian told D.C. Witness.
Parties are set to reconvene on Oct. 24.
