DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt heard opening statements and testimony from eight witnesses in a fatal shooting trial on Dec. 2.
George Sutton, 45, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of John Coleman, 34, on May 1, 2023, on the 2000 block of M Street, NE.
“Do you have a brother by the name of John Coleman?” a prosecutor asked of Coleman’s sister.
“You mean had?” she asked. She briefly testified by identifying the victim from a his photo shown in court.
“The defendant hunted and gunned down Mr. Coleman,” the prosecution said in their opening statement.
The prosecution described the events of May 1, 2023, when Coleman was traveling on a red Capital Bikeshare on the 1100 block of 21st Street, NE, where he came in contact with a gold Infiniti Sedan. The prosecution identified the driver of the vehicle as Sutton, who was blocked by Coleman’s bike.
An altercation occurred between Sutton and Coleman, which resulted in Coleman throwing an object at Sutton’s vehicle. “The defendant then drove to his home on the 4600 block of Quarles Street, NE, likely to get a gun,” the prosecution claimed.
Afterwards, he got back in his car and traveled back in the direction of where the altercation occurred, but came face to face with Coleman on the 2000 block of M Street, NE. The prosecution alleged that Sutton fired 10 gunshots at Coleman, and argued Sutton did so “maliciously and carelessly.”
A forensic pathologist, who later testified, confirmed that Coleman sustained three gunshot wounds to the neck, left leg, and right thigh.
A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) patrol officer, who responded to the scene of the incident, said he did not perform CPR on Coleman. “I instantly knew he was dead. He wasn’t moving or saying anything,” the officer testified.
Additionally, the prosecution stated, “no one is going to say that they saw Sutton pull the trigger.”
Sutton’s defense attorney Steven Kiersh homed on this statement, adding that although Sutton’s car was seen driving by multiple surveillance cameras, no one identified Sutton as the driver.
“You will also not hear anything about DNA in this case,” Kiersh argued.
An eyewitness who was present when the incident occurred was called in to testify by the prosecution.
The woman testified that she was walking her friend’s dog near the intersection of 21st and M Street. Once she was on M Street, the woman observed a “goldish” sedan in the middle of the 2000 block.
During her interview with MPD detectives on the day of the shooting, the woman described the car as a light-colored Nissan Altima. She testified that the car looked identical to a relative’s car, which is why she mistook it for a Nissan.
The woman claimed that she did not see the driver of the sedan, as the vehicle had tinted windows.
Additionally, she observed a man on a red bike approaching the vehicle. The woman assumed the man on the bike and the driver knew each other because the man on the bike was standing about three feet away from the vehicle.
Afterwards, the woman said she heard two gunshots and started running back towards 21st Street. While running, she looked behind her and saw the man on the bike fall to the ground. However, she testified that she did not see where the shots came from.
She also testified that no one else was in the vicinity when the shooting occurred.
Once the witness reached the intersection of 21st and M Street, she heard a ‘handful’ of additional gunshots. When asked by the prosecution how many gunshots she heard in total, the witness answered five.
Two other witnesses testified to hearing over ten gunshots at the time of the incident, but did not see anything occur.
When the forensic pathologist testified about the autopsy report, she informed the jury that two remote fragments were removed from Coleman’s right chest and left thigh. ‘Remote’ in this context refers to the location of a bullet or its fragments at a distance from the main wound. She testified it could’ve been sustained during a different incident.
Upon cross-examination, Kiersh asked the pathologist, “So, does this mean that two of the fragments were in the decedent’s body prior to the shooting on May 1, 2023?” The witness answered “yes, they were separate gunshot wounds.”
A Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) employee testified to taking pictures of the defendant’s car. During cross examination, Kiersh asked if the car had tinted windows, which the DFS employee confirmed it did not.
Parties are set to reconvene on Dec. 3.
