A key eyewitness in a homicide case admitted to jurors that she lied under the direction of an obstruction of justice defendant before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on March 16.
Aillayh Carter, 29, is charged with two counts of obstructing justice for allegedly trying to influence witnesses in a homicide case.
Carter’s case was severed on Feb. 20 from Robert Carpenter, 37, who is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm with prior conviction. These charges stem from his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Tremaine Nicholson at the 3400 block of 25th Street, SE on May 7, 2024.
Prosecutors called the woman Carter considers her godmother to testify, a key eyewitness to Nicholson’s murder. Prosecutors allege that Carter elicited false testimony from both the godmother and her husband.
Carter’s godmother explained that she met Carter through her husband, who worked with Carter. They quickly became good friends and she considered Carter her goddaughter after two weeks.
On the day of the shooting, Carter’s godmother said she visited Carter at her apartment with her husband about 10-to-20 minutes before Carpenter arrived from work. She claimed to hardly know or interact with Carpenter at the time, only referring to him as “son” since she didn’t know his name.
She also described Nicholson coming into the apartment, causing Carter to get upset. The godmother said she didn’t know Nicholson at the time, but deduced his relationship with Carter through her knowledge of Carter’s child, and because Nicholson repeatedly asked for his child upon arrival.
According to her godmother, Carter responded by continuously shouting “get the f*** out of my home.” This argument went on for around 20 minutes straight.
The godmother said she was in the kitchen, while they argued in the other room. After the argument there was a brief moment of silence then she heard a gunshot, but could not recall how many. She initially feared for her husband’s safety, but after confirming he was fine, she “got the hell up out of there,” without paying any attention to who else was present at the scene.
She testified that she did not see who fired the shot, and did not know if Carpenter was in the
room at the time of the shooting.
While running out of the apartment with her husband, the godmother observed Carter outside the apartment building on the phone. She claimed to have not heard Carter’s conversation, but assumed she was calling the police–but that wasn’t the case.
Prosecutors then questioned the godmother on her interactions with Carter following the shooting. She claimed that she did not speak with Carter about the shooting immediately after it occurred. However, another day, a short time later the godmother said Carter asked her to tell law enforcement that Robert Carter murdered Nicholson.
The godmother claimed to not remember what exactly she told law enforcement. Prosecutors presented her with her previous testimony from a prior hearing. She then said her memory was refreshed and she did in fact remember saying that Carter was responsible for the murder to law enforcement, and that it was under her direction.
Due to time constraints from inclement weather, Carter’s godmother’s direct examination was paused and will continue when parties resume the trial the following day.
Before her testimony, parties delivered their opening statements.
The prosecution told jurors that Nicholson was “unarmed, outnumbered, and shot in the back,” describing the fatal encounter that occurred in Carter’s apartment. The prosecution explained that although Carter did not commit the shooting, she obstructed justice by attempting to influence false testimony from witnesses, which interfered with law enforcement’s investigation.
Carter was not arrested for the murder at the scene, but despite that, the prosecution argued that she continued lying and contacted witnesses telling them to say that she was responsible for the killing.
Carter’s attorney, Julie Wilson, urged the jurors to approach the case carefully, warning them to not view the case through the lens of crime television shows.
“We all have watching crime shows in common,” but in television shows there is a clear right and wrong, said Wilson. “Real life is not an episode of ‘Law and Order,’” said Wilson, stating that cases are complicated and have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additionally, the prosecution called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who was the first to respond to the scene, to testify.
The officer testified that he was on patrol at the time of the incident when he received a call about shots fired. When he arrived, he explained that he saw “legs on the floor” immediately upon entering the apartment.
The prosecution showed the jury footage from the MPD officer’s body-worn camera. In the video, the officer called his partner so they could clear the apartment before requesting emergency services. Jurors were also shown a photo of Nicholson lying on the ground. The officer pointed out visible shell casing on the floor in this photograph.
During cross-examination, Carter’s other attorney, Gregory Copeland, confirmed with the officer that there was no one in the apartment besides him, his partner, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).
The prosecution called another MPD officer to the stand that arrived at the scene shortly after the initial officers and encountered a woman outside of the apartment building who was crying. The prosecution played the officer’s body-worn camera footage of her speaking with a woman who identified herself as Aillayh Carter.
During cross-examination, Copeland played additional footage from the officer’s body-worn camera. In the video, Carter told the officer that she asked Nicholson to leave her apartment but he did not. She also stated in the video that there were two other people inside the apartment but she told them to leave.
The prosecution replayed the video where Carter said there were two other people inside the apartment, but the officer explained that they were not present when she arrived.
Prosecutors also called an additional MPD Officer, along with the work supervisor of Carpenter, who was with Carpenter at the time of his arrest.
The officer testified that law enforcement apprehended Carpenter after an MPD Falcon helicopter located his pickup truck.
At the time, Carpenter was working as a park steward for a woods conservation organization. His supervisor at the time identified Carpenter and his pickup truck in front of the jury after being played surveillance footage of the front of the apartment building around the time of the shooting.
Parties are scheduled to resume Carter’s trial on March 17.
