The prosecutors said they plan to re-try a triple-homicide defendant on April 24 before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan after the DC Court of Appeals reversed his convictions.
Rakeem Willis, 35, was convicted by a jury on Nov. 16, 2022 of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and fleeing a law enforcement officer for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Sean Shuler, 26, Javon Abney, 26, and Tyrik Hagood, 24, on the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place, SE on Jan. 26, 2019.
Willis was sentenced to 120 years in prison on Feb. 10, 2023.
According to court documents, Willis filed an appeal on March 11, 2023, on the basis that DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee Jr., who presided over the pre-trial motions, failed to properly determine whether a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent’s testimony regarding cellular data was based on a reliable methodology that was fairly applied to the facts of the case.
Willis’ appeal also argued that Judge Lee incorrectly found that the prosecution’s notice to introduce the agent’s expert testimony adequately disclosed substantive evidence and that Judge Ryan failed to dismiss a juror who appeared to be sleeping or otherwise inattentive during the trial.
In an opinion written by DC Court of Appeals Judge Vijay Shanker, the court found that the evaluation of the FBI agent’s testimony as an expert was not sufficient and reversed Willis’ conviction for all three counts of first-degree murder. However, because the testimony did not relate to the fleeing a law enforcement officer charge, Willis’ conviction for that charge was affirmed.
At the hearing, prosecutors said they intend to retry the case against Willis. They said they will file a request to return him to the court’s jurisdiction, which usually takes 45 days.
Willis’ attorney, Jessica Willis, said she was not on the original counsel on the case and did not meet Willis before the hearing, so she could not access the full evidence. Judge Ryan declined to schedule a trial date until these matters could be resolved.
Parties are scheduled to reconvene on June 18.
