A defense attorney argued a fatal shooting was an accident, not a murder, during a homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on March 24.
Jaime Macedo, 24, is charged with first-degree felony murder while armed, attempted robbery while armed, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction less than a year, for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Maxwell Emerson. The incident occurred on July 5, 2023 at The Catholic University of America on the 600 block of Alumni Lane, NE. Emerson sustained one gunshot wound to the abdomen.
In the prosecution’s opening statement, they asked jurors to “use common sense” and “believe their eyes.” They said Macedo murdered Emerson when he “pulled out a gun and shot him.”
Prosecutors showed surveillance footage from the Brookland Metro Station, at the 800 block of Michigan Avenue, NE, where Emerson and Macedo allegedly met. They said Macedo flashed the gun he had in his waist band and attempted to rob Emerson. While the gun is not visible, prosecutors claim Macedo lifted his shirt to show Emerson that he was “not in control” of the situation.
In a separate surveillance footage clip, prosecutors showed Emerson walking with his hands up. This is the “universal sign for don’t shoot, I am unarmed,” according to prosecutors.
Emerson sent 300 dollars to Macedo on Cash App, prosecutors said, but sending the money was “not enough” for Macedo. They said Macedo reached for Emerson’s backpack when Emerson took a “last desperate chance” in an attempt to fight off Macedo. The prosecution said Emerson fell and “crumpled” to the ground, because Macedo shot him.
Rachel Cicurel, Macedo’s attorney, said the prosecution’s version of events is false. She said this was not a robbery and was “certainly” not a murder. Emerson caught Macedo by surprise when he was willing to help him, said Cicurel. Macedo did not threaten or attempt to rob Emerson at any point, Cicurel claimed.
The prosecution’s story “defies logic,” according to Cicurel. Cicurel said Macedo was walking with Emerson for 30 minutes. During this time, “not a single person” saw something out of the ordinary. “This is because nothing was out of the ordinary,” said Cicurel. Even with “scores of commuters and cars” passing by, no one stopped to call the police.
“Something changed” for Emerson when he noticed Macedo had a gun, claimed Cicurel. Macedo did not flash his gun when he first met Emerson outside of the train station, Instead, Circurel claimed, Emerson saw the gun immediately before sending a Snapchat message to his mother.
That’s when Cicurel said Emerson “attacks” Macedo out of “nowhere.” Emerson “absolutely panicked” and could not have known that Macedo is known to carry a gun for protection.
Emerson tackled Macedo down to the ground, according to Cicurel. The high school wrestling coach “attacked” Macedo and rendered him “unable to get up.” In the chaos, Cicurel claims that the gun went off.
This was a “tragic, tragic, accident,” said Cicurel. What happened was “awful,” but this was not a robbery or a murder.
The prosecution called Emerson’s mother to testify who said that her, Emerson, and Emerson’s twin brother traveled to DC from Kentucky. Emerson planned to attend the Summer Teacher Institute conference at the Library of Congress.
The day of the incident, which was the first day of the conference, Emerson sent his mother a Snapchat photo of him waking up in his bed at Trinity Washington University, where they stayed whenever they came down to DC.
She responded back with a Snapchat that said “I didn’t hear you leave. Have a good day and send pictures.”
A few minutes later, Emerson sent his mother a message saying, “Help. Being ribbed. At ‘cub’ point.” These were “typos born of desperation,” according to prosecutors in their opening statements.
Emerson’s mother said she was unsure of what her son was trying to tell her and went back to sleep. Later she realized her son was telling her that he was being robbed at gunpoint. This was when she and Emerson’s twin brother went to an officer and asked for help. A few hours later, they found out about what happened to Emerson at a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) station.
During cross-examination, Cicurel asked Emerson’s mother about the day prior to his death when Emerson, his mother, and his brother, explored DC. Circurel asked Emerson’s mother whether Emerson left the group to get a Starbucks order that day. Emerson’s mother said she was not aware, but also stated that Emerson never went alone anywhere during their trip before the day of the incident.
The prosecution called a lieutenant from the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DC FEMS) on the Battalion Medical Team to testify. The lieutenant responded to a dispatch of a cardiac arrest and when he arrived witnessed someone performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on Emerson.
The lieutenant noticed that Emerson was not breathing, did not have a heart beat, and was facing face up on the ground unconscious. According to the lieutenant, he questioned why Emerson was having a heart attack because he seemed young.
Then, the lieutenant noticed the penetrating injury in Emerson’s abdomen, with a pattern around the wound, which told him it was a close contact gunshot wound. He stated that there was no visible blood because Emerson bled internally.
The lieutenant said he noticed Emerson’s wallet on the ground, found his driver’s license and took a photo. Afterward, the lieutenant left the wallet on the ground for MPD and his team, transferred Emerson to a trauma center down the road because he was in critical critical condition.
Circurel asked if anyone else, who wasn’t MPD, touched the wallet. The lieutenant stated that there was a campus police who picked up the wallet and ignored the lieutenant’s request to leave it so MPD could handle it.
Parties are slated to reconvene on March 25.
