Attorneys Deliver Opening Statements After Four Year Delay

By Adriana Marroquin , Aerial Lopez [former] - February 17, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Trial is finally underway, almost five years after the murder of 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson. 

Gregory Taylor, 27, Quentin Michals, 25, Qujuan Thomas, 24, Darrise Jeffers, 23, Isaiah Murchison, 23, and Marquell Cobbs, 21, are six of 10 defendants charged with first-degree murder, criminal street gang affiliation, conspiracy, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with intent to kill, and other charges regarding a fatal drive-by shooting that resulted in Makiyah’s death. The shooting happened on the 300 block of 53rd Street, NE on July 16, 2018. 

After a lengthy jury selection process, the prosecution and defense presented their opening statements. 

During the prosecution’s opening statement, the prosecutor pointed to the six defendants and told the jury that they were the reason the Clay Terrace neighborhood had been negatively impacted. 

The prosecution explained that, on the date of the incident, Makiyah and her older sister, who also endured a gunshot to her arm,  spent the day together and, at the time of the shooting, were waiting for their mother to finish styling someone’s hair outside their house in Clay Terrace. 

The prosecution also explained that the issues between the gangs did not begin in July of 2018. 

She said there had been several shootings and incidents between the gangs for years, and the shooting of July 16, 2018, was in retaliation to incidents that had occurred prior. 

“The beef” between the gangs had been mostly conducted through social media, she said, continuing with “online beef was transformed into real life acts of violence.”

She said the defendants pledged their allegiance to the gang through messages, songs, and the clothing they wore, which will be shown as evidence exhibits to the jury. 

This ongoing conflict between the two gangs is inevitably what resulted in Makiyah’s murder. 

The prosecution stated that Makiyah could be seen in several of the Glizzy Murder Gang’s rap videos on Youtube. One in particular, Traffic, created by Lil Dude included slander towards the 37th Street Crew. 

According to the prosecution, on the days leading up to Makiyah’s murder, the defendants bought guns, cars, and hired a getaway driver. They posted everything to Instagram to send a message to rival gangs. 

After the shooting at Clay Terrace, the defendants met up at Wellington Park to celebrate with other Wellington Park members, which can be seen on surveillance video, the prosecutor said. 

The prosecution ended their opening statements by telling the jury that a guilty verdict is the only verdict that is acceptable for these acts. 

During Thursday’s trial each defense attorney also took a turn delivering their opening statements.

“Try him, not the Wellington Park [Street Gang].” said defense attorney John Zucker in reference to his client Gregory Taylor. 

He said “this case is going to affect you and that effect is going to stay with you long past this trial is over.” Zucker urged the 18 jurors to refrain from succumbing to their fear of the crime and allow the evidence to speak for itself. 

The defense pointed out that the common theme connecting each defendant is their connection to the DC underground music scene. 

Defense attorney Kevin J. McCants delivered the opener for Cobbs, saying his client was just a “17-year-old kid involved in rap videos,” not the murder of a 10-year-old child. 

To this point, Errin Scialpi, Quentin Michals’ attorney, said that “these are not gang members, these are musical artists” and that Michals was only a fan of the music they created. 

Julie Swaney, defense attorney for Thomas, said that the evidence delivered by the prosecution, including social media posts and direct messages should not be a reflection of their character. Swaney said “social media is not real life,” that it is simply young people wanting to portray things that aren’t a true representation of themselves. 

After each opening statement the prosecution called the first witness, Makiyah’s mother, who said her daughter “was everything.” 

When the prosecution asked her to describe her daughter, the witness said  “she was an angel on Earth before she went to heaven.” 

Every defense attorney decided not to question the witness. Once relieved from the stand, she retreated from the courtroom in tears. 

Present for these opening statements were several family and community members. Both sides of the courtroom were filled with supporters for both the defendants and victim. Inside the courtroom, members for the defendants and the victim were also separated with multiple US Marshals stationed in the courtroom for security.  

Due to the media attention on this case, there was also a separate viewing room for audience overflow. 

The trial is set to resume on Feb. 21.