Three witnesses appeared before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on Oct. 8, and testified about the day their home surveillance footage captured a non-fatal shooting.
Reginald Steele, 26, is charged with first-degree murder conspiracy, first-degree murder, ten counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, 11 counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, four counts of carrying a pistol without a license, five counts of possession of an unregistered firearm, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
The charges relate to Steele’s alleged involvement in four shootings, including the murder of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes and injury of another juvenile on March 1, 2020 on the 600 block of S Street, NW.
Steele’s accused of a separate shooting the same day with no reported injuries on the unit block of Channing Street, NE.
Steele is also charged with a non-fatal shooting that injured two individuals on Feb. 22, 2020 on the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW, and a non-fatal shooting that injured three on Feb. 24, 2020 on the 1700 block of 9th Street, NW.
The prosecution called one of the residents of the 5000 block of 7th Street to testify about the shooting on Feb. 22, 2020. In addition to the footage on his Ring camera, the witness had a clear view of nearby street events from his front door window.
The witness testified to hearing multiple gunshots. Turning to look outside of his front door, he observed an individual wearing a green sweatshirt jump into a car and then speeding off. This was captured on the Ring doorbell footage that was shared with the jurors.
The defense did not conduct a cross-examination.
Prosecutors called two more witnesses, also nearby residents, who gave similar testimonies.
One, who resided on the 700 block of Gallatin Street, NW, was also at home and heard multiple gunshots in front of his home. The man said when he went to the front of his house, he saw multiple cars moving in different directions.
His home surveillance footage, which he provided to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers, was shown to the jury. In the footage, a vehicle was parked in the middle of 7th Place, NW. An individual wearing a green jumpsuit was seen entering the driver’s side of the car. Another individual wearing all black clothing was seen entering the passenger’s side of the vehicle. Shortly after, the vehicle sped off.
Another witness, who also lived on the 5000 block of 7th Place, NW, testified that he was not home when the shooting occurred but was informed by a neighbor. However, he provided his home surveillance footage to MPD officers.
In his footage, a grey vehicle was seen turning recklessly on 7th Place, nearly hitting another vehicle, and heading north towards Gallatin Street. Shortly after, multiple gunshots were heard and bystanders reacted.
An MPD officer who responded to the shooting testified that 11 gunshots were fired based on the home surveillance footage. He also identified the vehicle in the footage as a grey or silver Kia Soul which prosecutors previously identified as the suspect vehicle.
Additionally, the officer said he spoke to other residents. One, in particular, was a young Black man who interacted with the officer the most.
The officer described his demeanor as “collected,” and explained that he was calmer than his family members and gave an impression that he had more knowledge of what happened that day than he was willing to provid–and his story was not adding up, according to the officer.
Parties are slated to reconvene Oct. 9.
