DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt heard closing arguments on Nov. 3 and 4, in a jury trial involving a shooting that killed a 13-year-old boy.
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, where no individuals sustained injuries.
Prosecutors began their closing arguments with a rap song written by Steele. In the song, Steele referred to himself by his nickname, “Gordo.”
The song contained the lyrics, “I lost my dawg, I’m s****** on all these n***** without a stall, long live Slatt, I wish I hadn’t got that call.”
The prosecution played this song to highlight what they described as a case fueled by “revenge, retaliation, and retribution.” They stated that Steele was “driven by the desire of revenge” for the murder of his friend, Tahlil Byrd, 19. Byrd, a rapper who was publicly known as the “North West Goon” and by his friends as “Slatt,” was fatally shot on Sept. 19, 2019 on the 600 block of S Street, NW.
After Byrd’s death, there were rivalries between the 9th Street neighborhood and the 3500 crews, which started over a rap beef and specifically, who warranted the title as “the real North West Goon,” the prosecution explained.
Steele and his co-defendants, Aaron Brown, 29, Tyiion Freeman, 26, and Koran Jackson, 25, who were also friends of Byrd and close to his family, started targeting members of the 9th Street neighborhood, according to the prosecution. Brown, Freeman and Jackson were previously convicted for their involvement.
“We had to bring you these other individuals to establish his [Steele’s] guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” the prosecution explained.
“All four individuals were fueled by revenge,” the prosecution added.
The prosecution argued that on March 1, 2020, Steele and Jackson drove a stolen Kia Soul from the 1800 block of Bruce Place, SE, stopped at a BP gas station, proceeded to pick up Freeman and Brown, then drove to their first targets.
“They opened fire on four teenagers,” said the prosecution. “They killed Malachi Lukes with all his hopes, dreams, and tomorrows.”
The driver in a vehicle behind the Kia Soul, who witnessed the shooting on S Street and dialed 9-1-1, described the shooting as “something out of a movie.”
“The passenger in the backseat had his right hand turned sideways to shoot,” the caller added. The caller also provided a description of the vehicle, and mentioned that it had a Maryland license plate.
Surveillance footage showed Lukes and his friends as they went into a uBreakiFix store and picked up a basketball, then exited the store. Moments later, Lukes was shown lying on the ground, suffering from a single gunshot wound.
“They targeted, they preyed on those young kids,” the prosecution emphasized. The reason that they targeted Lukes and his friends was because they participated in a music video from a 9th Street rapper, according to the prosecution.
Additionally, one of Lukes’ friends testified to having been involved in a text exchange with Byrd’s cousin, who confronted Lukes’ friend about a post he made, which Byrd’s cousin interpreted as an insult to Byrd himself.
Immediately after the shooting on S Street, Steele and his co-defendants drove to Channing Street to target another member of 9th Street, claimed the prosecution.
“They didn’t even want to stop after killing a 13-year-old,” the prosecution stated.
The victim on Channing Street saw the Kia Soul as it approached. He testified that a passenger from the backseat had his right hand turned sideways as he shot at him. The victim also testified that the passenger yelled at him, “I hope your b**** a** dies.” The victim was able to escape as he hid behind parked vehicles.
After the shootings, surveillance footage showed who the prosecution claimed is Steele and his co-defendants as they traveled on the 500 block of Lamont Street, NW, where the Kia Soul was seen abandoned with a flat tire, according to a resident who lived in the neighborhood.
The abandoned vehicle also had a Maryland license plate, as the 9-1-1 caller described from the S Street shooting.
The prosecution was allegedly able to identify Steele among the group of individuals by the outfit he was wearing. The outfit, a dark blue hoodie and dark grey jeans, was seen on an Instagram story the day before the shooting. The story contained a picture of Steele and Jackson together.
Additionally, the footage from the BP gas station that Steele and Jackson allegedly stopped at on March 1 showed the two individuals as they went into the gas station store, with Steele seen wearing the same outfit and Jackson wearing a NASA sweatshirt, which was allegedly recovered during a search warrant on May 29, 2020.
The prosecution also described the shooting that took place on Feb. 22, 2020.
The victim, who lived on the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW, described the shooters having also been driving a Kia Soul. The victim’s girlfriend testified that, “as soon as I came out on my porch I noticed two girls and two boys staring at us from inside the car.”
The victim’s girlfriend further explained that a man in the rear driver seat rolled down his window and asked the victim, “What you say?”
“She testified to how angry the person in the backseat was to the point that one of the girls in the car told him to calm down,” the prosecution explained.
The man, who was wearing a lime green hoodie, proceeded to get out of the car and walk into the middle of the street, along with another man who was sitting in the driver seat.
The individuals fired eleven gunshots at the victims as they ran into their home.
The prosecution argued that the shooters were Steele and Jackson, as Steele was seen wearing the same lime green hoodie in a picture with Jackson, also posted on Instagram.
“They exited the Kia and moved closer to their targets,” the prosecution stated. “It was the defendant who was irate and enraged, who just couldn’t let it go,” the prosecution continued.
The prosecution also mentioned how the firearm, a Glock-19, used in the Feb. 22, 2020 shooting was “consistent with” the same firearm used in the shootings on March 1, 2020, according to a witness who testified on ballistic evidence. The prosecution stated, “perhaps he [the witness] can tell you that.”
Defense attorney Megan Allburn later asked, “Are we convicting people of first-degree murder based on ‘perhaps’?”
Allburn, in her closing argument, stated, “you have heard a lot of information about other people, but I will only talk about Reginald Steele.”
Allburn argued, “no identifying witness came in and said Mr. Steele was one of the shooters” on Feb. 22 or March 1, 2020. She explained that when Lukes’ friend testified in court, he did not testify that he saw the shooters on S Street.
She also argued that there was no evidence of Steele’s having uncontrollable rage in the backseat of the Kia Soul on Farragut Street.
In response to the prosecution’s “revenge, retaliation, and retribution” argument, Allburn asked, “where did that come out from the witnesses on this stand?”
When talking about Steele’s grievance over Byrd’s death, Allburn emphasized, “a young person died and it’s unreasonable for someone to mourn the death of their friend?”
“It’s not a crime to mourn your friend,” she added.
Allburn also argued that there is no video of Steele and his co-defendants exiting the Kia Soul after they abandoned it, despite the surveillance footage that showed the individuals on Lamont Street.
Additionally, she argued that the resident on Lamont Street, who testified, said that there were three or four individuals, and that the prosecution did not refresh his memory to clarify the exact number of individuals he saw walking.
During rebuttal, the prosecution asked, “were we not in the same court room for the last two damn months?”
They added, “Ms. Allburn doesn’t like the evidence because it convicts her client.”
The prosecution argued, “she [Allburn] had the chance to cross-examine the witness and asked how many individuals he saw, but she didn’t.”
Allburn requested a motion for a mistrial, arguing that the prosecution’s statement was inappropriate and ‘burden shifting’- a legal concept that changes who is responsible for proving or disproving a key fact in a case.
Judge Brandt denied Allburn’s request for a mistrial, arguing that the prosecution’s statement was not burden shifting because “it’s a correct statement.” The defense had the chance to ask the witness those questions and did not,” Judge Brandt stated.
In regards to DNA evidence, an expert previously testified that Steele’s likely DNA was found on the door handle of the Kia Soul on March 1, 2020, the prosecution stated.
Allburn rebutted, “DNA on the door handle does not say he [Steele] was in the car during the shooting.” She explained that the DNA expert also testified that ‘DNA does not tell time,’ and that when a person touches something, their DNA is permanently on it.
Allburn emphasized, “there is no credible evidence showing Mr. Steele assisted anyone in the shooting on March, 1, 2020. There is no credible evidence showing Mr. Steele entered into a conspiracy on March 1, 2020.”
However, the prosecution rebutted, “there is no doubt that on March 1, 2020, there was an agreement to kill members of 9th Street.”
Parties are slated to reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.
