Parties presented their closing arguments to the jury in a homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on April 8.
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 of more than one year, for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Maxwell Emerson. The incident occurred on the 600 block of Alumni Lane, NE, on July 5, 2023.
In their closing argument, prosecutors argued Macedo shot and killed Emerson during an attempted robbery. Emerson died from a single gunshot wound to the stomach.
Emerson was in DC to attend a teaching conference at the Library of Congress, prosecutors said. In preparation, he applied and obtained a letter of recommendation. Emerson “abandoned” the conference because he was “being robbed at gun point,” said prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Emerson planned to use the Brookland-CUA Metro Station as a shortcut to get to the conference. After exiting the Metro station, Emerson met Macedo for this first time, according to prosecutors. Emerson had “one place to be” and wouldn’t risk “being late.”
Prosecutors showed video footage from the Metro station, which they claimed shows Macedo lifting up his shirt and flashing a gun to Emerson. Macedo’s back is visible to the camera and he moves his elbow up, which they said is when he flashed his gun.
Prosecutors said Macedo walked up to Emerson and “said something” outside of the Metro station. When Macedo showed a gun, Emerson opened his wallet and handed his Airpods to Macedo, according to the prosecution. Prosecutors said Emerson tried to walk away, but Macedo followed him.
“[Emerson] was scared,” said the prosecution. “He didn’t want to get hurt.”
Prosecutors presented surveillance footage that showed Emerson walking with his hands up. This is the universal sign for “I surrender, don’t shoot,” they said. Emerson did this when pedestrians walked by to get their attention, prosecutors claimed.
At this point, Emerson tried to “comply” and “find a way out,” the prosecution said, his “safest option” was to keep walking with Macedo. Prosecutors showed another clip of Emerson walking with his hands up as another pedestrian walked by.
Prosecutors said Macedo directed Emerson to sit on a bench in a courtyard. With Macedo “hovering over him,” Emerson sent 300 dollars via Cash App to “the account of a complete stranger.”
Two minutes after he sent the money, Emerson sent a Snapchat message to his mother that read “Help. Bring ribbed at cub point.” The prosecution showed a screenshot of a Snapchat keyboard to demonstrate Emerson’s typos.
The prosecution claimed jurors “knew what [Emerson] was trying to say,” he was “being robbed at gun point” and needed help. It wasn’t safe for Emerson to call 911 and trying to “comply” with Macedo did not work.
Prosecutors said that in “one last desperate attempt to get out,” Emerson tackled Macedo. Then Emerson was shot one time and fell to the ground, they said. Macedo ran away so that he “wouldn’t be held accountable,” according to the prosecution.
Macedo’s attorneys, Jessica Willis and Rachel Cicurel, suggested a different version.
Wills said Macedo did not intend to “threaten or rob” Emerson. Macedo told Emerson that he had kids and needed help, she said. Will argued Emerson caught Macedo by surprise when he was willing to help. Emerson was engaged and listening to Macedo, Willis claimed.
Emerson did not see Macedo’s gun until right before he sent the Snapchat message to his mom, Willis argued. This is when “something changed for Emerson.” He went from thinking Macedo was “harmless” to “noticing he was armed.”
“Macedo is a lot of things, but he is not a robber and certainly not a murderer,” Willis said.
An important principle of law is “presumption of innocence,” emphasized Willis. The law “protects each and every one of us, no matter the mistakes that you have made.”
Willis said the prosecution has the burden of proof in this case. If jurors have questions, they should hold those against the prosecution, she said. Jurors have “compelling reasons to doubt” their case.
“A robbery doesn’t make sense,” Willis said.
Macedo was “body slammed onto the brick with an extraordinary amount of force” by Emerson, Willis said. When Emerson loosened his grip on Macedo, the force caused the gun to go off, Willis argued.
According to Willis, no shell casing was found on the scene, because it was in Macedo’s pants. This is evidence that the gun was fired from inside his pants, she said.
Willis asserted there was no “stippling” in Emerson’s gunshot wound because the shot was fired inside Macedo’s pants. Stippling typically occurs when a gun is fired within one-to-three feet of the victim, she said. Stippling is tiny abrasions on the skin around the wound caused by gun powder.
Macedo is “still haunted by the accident and is struggling to make sense of what happened,” according to Willis.
“All of the evidence undermines that Macedo pulled the gun,” Willis said.
In the prosecution’s rebuttal, they argued that the only verdict consistent with the evidence is guilty on all counts.
Parties will reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.
