The prosecution claimed co-defendants planned and carried out a fatal shooting as retaliation for their friend’s murder in a retrial before DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson on May 12.
Alonzo Brown, 29, and Naquel Henderson, 28, are charged with conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, first-degree murder while armed, four counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for their alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Michael Taylor on Jan. 12, 2019 on the 1700 block of Benning Road, NE. Taylor sustained gunshot wounds to his head, thigh, and heel and two additional surviving victims sustained gunshot injuries.
Brown and Henderson are two of five men charged with Taylor’s death. Carlos Turner, 28, Stephon Evans, 25, and Tavis Alston, 32, all accepted plea deals and were sentenced.
DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park declared a mistrial on May 23, 2025 after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in Brown and Henderson’s first trial.
In court, parties started Brown and Henderson’s retrial with contrasting opening arguments, The prosecution asserted Taylor’s murder was not random but a “planned attack” to retaliate for the murder of the defendants’ friend.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), 19-year-old Shamar Marbury was fatally shot on Jan. 1, 2019 on the 4200 block of Barnaby Road, SE. Brown and Henderson were both pallbearers at Marbury’s funeral on Jan. 11, 2019, the day before Taylor’s murder. The prosecution claimed that “standing over the casket of their friend, they decided to retaliate.”
According to prosecutors, the Pentacle Apartments, where the defendants lived, and Benning Courts Apartments were engaged in an ongoing feud. The defendants believed individuals associated with Benning Courts were responsible for Marbury’s death.
The day after Marbury’s funeral, prosecutors said, the five suspects entered a vehicle and drove around searching for targets in Benning Courts. Alston acted as the getaway driver, said prosecutors, and the four other defendants were all armed and “moving in formation, on a mission to kill.”
The complex had one way to enter and exit, emphasized prosecutors, and the “four armed men, dressed in black from head-to-toe,” blocked and trapped the victims inside. “They literally lit up the building” with gunshots, asserted prosecutors, as the victims ran up the stairs. In eight seconds the defendants fired 71 shots, said prosecutors, and they left behind smoke and debris, cartridge casings, bullet fragments, and “pools and pools of blood.”
The prosecution said the jury will see surveillance video, evidence from the crime scene, and witness testimony that corroborates their narrative. They will also hear from a key witness, a close friend of Brown and Henderson, who grew up with them, and “who actually pulled the trigger.”
The key witness will testify, alleged prosecutors, that Brown entered the apartment first, followed by Henderson, and they fired so many shots the key witness was worried they would hit each other. The key witness pleaded guilty, was sentenced, and is serving time in Virginia for an unrelated matter, said prosecutors.
The defendants “planned this ambush” and “executed it with precision,” concluded prosecutors and asked the jury to find them guilty.
“There’s no doubt a tragedy occured,” noted Brown’s attorney, Steven Kiersh, but said the jury’s responsibility is to determine the facts and whether Brown is responsible. Kiersh asserted Brown is not guilty.
“The man who executed Michael Taylor is [the key witness],” said Kiersh. The key witness initially faced a first-degree murder charge which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison. Through a deal from prosecutors, the key witness pleaded guilty to second-degree murder which has no mandatory minimum.
Kiersh claimed the key witness’ plea deal would disappear if he did not say Brown was involved in Taylor’s murder. Kiersh said after the key witness testified at Brown’s last trial, he received a fully suspended sentence in June 2025 and “walked right out of there.” In January, the key witness was arrested on unrelated drug charges and incarcerated again.
The key witness has “bias, prejudice, [and] motive” to fabricate his testimony, concluded Kiersh and asked the jury to doubt his narrative.
Henderson’s attorney, Julie Swaney, echoed Kiersh’s statements about the key witness and asked the jurors to proceed with caution when listening to his testimony. Swaney also noted Brown and Henderson are two separate defendants and the jury should consider the evidence as it applies to each of them.
“Henderson was not involved,” asserted Swaney and said no forensic evidence ties him to the incident and very few witnesses will mention his name. Henderson was close with Marbury, noted Swaney, but that does not make him guilty.
“Don’t let emotions cloud you,” said Swaney and told the jury they should “demand proof” from prosecutors.
The trial is scheduled to resume on May 13.
