Prosecutors introduced video evidence of a witness allegedly saying she heard a shooting defendant demand money from the victim before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on March 5.
Derrick Gladden, 55, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting that injured one victim on April 15, 2024 on the 2300 block of Marion Barry Avenue, SE. The victim sustained one gunshot wound.
The victim’s former girlfriend and Gladden’s neighbor testified to hearing one gunshot from her apartment the afternoon of the shooting.
The prosecution presented video clips from police body-worn camera footage in which the victim’s former girlfriend said “I heard Derrick say ‘you’re gonna give me my money.’” However, the witness said she did not remember saying that due to increasing memory problems.
Gladden’s attorney, Alvin Thomas, pointed out that in the victim’s former girlfriend testimony to the grand jury, she did not mention hearing a conversation before the gunshot.
The witness said she knew Gladden since he was a child, and would most likely recognize his voice.
Thomas also asked the victim’s former girlfriend about an incident in which the victim attempted to take knives from her apartment to confront someone. Thomas asked if it was potentially Gladden. The witness said she remembered this happening less than a month before the shooting, but cannot remember who the victim planned a confrontation.
She clarified to prosecutors that to her knowledge the victim did not usually carry weapons.
The victim’s former girlfriend also said that the victim suffered from severe brain cancer at the time of the shooting.
Another witness called by the prosecution lived across the hall from Gladden and his mother in the apartment complex where the incident occurred. The prosecutors questioned the neighbor on photos and videos of Gladden leaving the apartment that he was staying in at the time of the incident. The neighbor identified Gladden said to be the man shown on his Ring camera and the man in the courtroom.
The prosecution also called an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to confirm the presence of physical evidence allegedly founed in Gladden’s apartment, including various types of ammunition, firearm accessories, and a handgun holster.
Parties are slated to reconvene March 6 to discuss evidence, the jury is scheduled to return March 9.
