DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson acquitted a carjacking defendant of a shooting charge and heard testimony from additional witnesses on the second day of a trial on Oct. 27.
Bernard King, 41, is charged with unarmed carjacking, and threat to injure or kidnap a person. These charges stem from King’s alleged involvement in the unarmed carjacking and assault on a victim, the mother of his children, on June 7, at the 1900 block of 18th Street, SE.
During the trial, King’s attorney, Karen Minor, motioned for acquittal on all counts. Minor argued that there is no evidence of gunshots as witnesses have not testified to hearing any and there is no evidence that King discharged a firearm. She also stated there is no evidence of carjacking or that King made any threats.
Prosecutors admitted footage of King walking towards a house allegedly stating something along the lines of, “You’re gonna die.” They also stated that the victim said she heard two loud bangs and it was her assumption that those were gunshots.
The prosecution claimed that testimony from an eyewitness is in line with carjacking and the victim stated that at the time of the incident, King did not have permission to use the vehicle.
Judge Dayson acquitted King on the charge of unlawful discharge of a firearm, stating that there was not enough evidence to prove that King fired a shot.
Prosecutors called the victim to the stand–the mother of the defendant’s children.
She testified that on the day of the incident she was at Good Hope Deli, a corner store where the incident started. Through surveillance footage the victim can be seen walking towards her vehicle when a black Jaguar comes into frame and pulls directly behind her.
When asked who was driving that black Jaguar, she stated it was King. As the footage continued, the two could be seen arguing. When asked what the two were arguing about, the victim stated that it was because she had the defendant’s phone.
The video ended with the defendant driving off first, and the victim pulling out in the same direction shortly after. She said as she was driving home she saw the car parked on 18th street and heard two loud noises. She said she sped off because she was scared.
According to the victim, she did not know where the noises came from. Prosecutors asked why she went to an officer’s house. She said that King was allegedly chasing her and she thought if she went for help he would stop.
In cross-examination by Minor, the victim was asked what the nature of her relationship was with the defendant. She said they were co-parents that were living together. She added that they had not had a romantic relationship in “quite some time”.
According to the witness, when she pulled out of the Good Hope Deli parking lot she was not trying to get away from the defendant. She stated that she was trying to go home at the time she pulled out of the parking lot.
The victim testified she didn’t call the police during the incident, and stated that she never saw King with a gun or pointing a gun at her on the day of the incident.
The defense called King to testify. He testified that he and the victim live together with their children. On June 7, he stated that he had not seen the victim for a few days, they had been going through ups and downs while coparenting.
Prior, King stated that the last time he saw the victim was June 5 when she supposedly took electronics from the home including an iPad and King’s phone. On the day of the incident, King claimed, he canvassed the neighborhood for her after one of their children notified him that they had seen her.
He went looking for her in her Jaguar which he stated he had used multiple times with permission fand the same goes for a BMW. He stated that neither of them needed to ask permission to use either of their cars.
King stated that when he located her in a corner store market he was trying to get his phone back, but was unsuccessful. After that, he stated, he left the market first believing she was going home and when she did not, he followed her to the intersection of 23rd and S Street, SE.
He claimed that the victim looked intoxicated because she was irate, loud, her eyes were droopy, and she was swerving while driving. Ultimately, he parked with BMW and took the Jaguar.
The prosecution also called an eyewitness who lived near the incident. The witness testified to seeing the incident occur through her window. She stated that she heard “angry” and “forceful” yelling from a deep voice.
According to the witness, she saw a man she did not recognize next to a black Jaguar pulling on the door handle of the BMW and banging on the window.
She stated that once the door opened, a woman was ripped out of the driver’s seat and thrown onto the pavement.
The witness claimed that the man then got into the BMW and the woman ran down S Street towards a police car. The BMW drove in the opposite direction, but the witness was unable to see how far.
The witness said that the woman was frantic and visibly upset. According to the witness, her neighbor, an off-duty officer, eventually came outside and assisted the woman.
She stated that after she got off the phone with the police the Jaguar was gone and she did not know what happened to it.
In cross examination, Minor noted that the witness was on the second floor of her building. The witness stated that from her window, flush with the front door of the building, she would be about 50 feet from the street where the incident happened. She also stated that she did not hear any words that were said.
She stated that at first she thought there might have been another carjacker because at some point the Jaguar was gone. She testified that she did not see any weapon in the suspect’s hands and did not hear gunshots.
In a redirect by prosecutors, the witness stated that nothing was obstructing her view that day.
The prosecution called an off duty Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who was an eyewitness to the incident. The officer testified she was attempting to take a nap in her residence when she heard “frantic banging” at her door. She looked out her window and saw a Black male in a black sweatshirt walking down the street, pointing his arm at her house with a finger gun symbol.
According to the officer, when she went to open the door a woman was walking away. She called her into her home and radioed the incident in. She radioed because the woman told her that her children’s father had “fired off two rounds at her”.
She was asked if she heard or saw any gun shots, to which she said she did not.
Her residence had four security cameras, three of which were working on the day of the incident. Through surveillance from those cameras the majority of the incident could be seen. On video the victim could be seen running to the officer’s home and repeatedly ringing her doorbell. The victim was heard saying “you on camera” as the male came into frame then ran off.
In cross examination by defense, the officer was asked if at the time she was observing the incident if she ever heard or saw any gun shots. The officer testified she did not.
A ShotSpotter analyst was called to the stand to explain how the system collects and records the sounds of gunshots, then alerts police.
The specialist testified that on the day of the incident at 10:40am an alert was triggered to a single round on the 1900 block of 18th street.
In cross-examination he was asked how accurate the software was at giving the location of where the shot was fired. He stated that generally there is an 82 foot radius.
During the trial King asked to remove Minor as his attorney. He stated that he did not receive all of the discovery in his case and felt as though he was “being railroaded”.
Minor asked to withdraw herself, but Judge Dayson denied the withdrawal. She stated that there was no good reason for Minor to withdraw or be removed.
The prosecution called an MPD officer who testified to be called in to do paperwork regarding an individual who turned himself in. The officer identified the individual as King.
Parties are set to reconvene Oct. 28.
