Surveillance footage of a vehicle involved in a 2020 fatal shooting case was presented to the jury before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on Oct. 7.
Reginald Steele, 26, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, conspiracy, ten counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, 11 counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, four counts of carrying a pistol without a license, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and five counts of possession of an unregistered firearm.
The charges are in connection to his alleged involvement in four shootings, including the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, at the 600 block of S Street, NW, on March 1, 2020. Another individual sustained injuries during the incident.
Steele was also allegedly involved in a non-fatal shooting on March 1, 2020 at the unit block of Channing Street, NE, and a non-fatal shooting on Feb. 22, 2020 at the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW. No individuals sustained injuries.
Additionally, Steele faces charges for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting on Feb. 24, 2020 at the 1700 block of Ninth Street, NW. Three individuals sustained injuries during the incident.
A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective was recalled to the stand to complete his testimony from the day prior. The witness reviewed live footage that he obtained from various locations that depicted four men in a Kia Soul with a prominent Getaround car company logo on the side.
A 2024 trial proved that Steele’s co-defendants, Tyiion Freeman, 26, Koran Jackson, 25, Stephen Nelson, 34 and Aaron Brown, 29, stole the same Kia Soul seen on the video footage and used it in the Channing Street shooting and the homicide. Prosecutors claim Steele was part of the group.
Prosecutors reviewed videos from 14th Street and Columbia Road, NW, a BP gas station on the 3400 block of Georgia Avenue, NW, Trinity Towers on the 3000 block of 14th Street NW, and Lamont and 6th Streets, NW.
In all four of these videos that prosecution showed to the witness, he noted that when the Kia Soul was in view, the same Getaround logo was visible, indicating it was the same car at all described locations.
Additionally, the detective described the specific articles of clothing seen on the men in each video that later helped identify multiple of the co-defendants.
One man was wearing a sweatshirt with a NASA logo on the front and back, who was later identified as Jackson, according to court documents. Another wore a sweatshirt with Tokyo and Japan written on the front, later identified as Freeman, according to court documents.
The detective then described a third man in the videos wearing a sweatshirt with the word RAW written on the front, and wearing unique sneakers. The witness confirmed that this man was allegedly identified as Steele.
“Was there a nickname that was given?,” prosecutors asked the witness in reference to Steele. “Gordo,” the witness replied.
After identifying the clothing items in each video, prosecutors brought out both the NASA sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers for the witness to identify in front of the jury.
A compilation of surveillance footage was shown to the jury after the witness testified that he had compiled and verified it. The video tracks the Silver Kia Soul for a period of 90 minutes from the BP gas station to the scene of the shooting on Bryant and North Capitol Street and the homicide. The witness further testified that the men identified earlier can be seen exiting the vehicle around the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Lamont Street, NW.
Prosecutors also called on a monitoring specialist and custodian of records for the DC Department of Corrections (DOC) who testified that she was responsible for compiling calls from the DC jail phone system for subpoena.
The witness asserted that every inmate in the DOC has a unique PIN code and voice recognition that allows them to access the phone, and this is how the data was retrieved for specific individuals.
Detailed reports of calls made by Brown, Jackson, and Steele were admitted into evidence after being verified by the witness.
A call between Steele and a man alleged to be his father was played before the court, where they can be heard briefly discussing his arrest earlier that day. Calls from the other individuals were played for the court for purposes of voice identification of each of the men.
Trial is set to reconvene on Oct. 8.
