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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- April 6, 2018
Court
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Homicides
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Suspects
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A cellmate of Joseph Minor testified April 5 that Minor told him that he allegedly planned to murder Gregory Lee on Christmas Eve.
According to a cellmate, Minor, 27, said he planned to kill Lee with his friend, Maurice Blakey, 26, and asked for advice on his defense. The cellmate said Minor told him that he wanted to provide the jury with information that would show innocence rather than guilt.
Lee was pronounced dead on the 1200 block of Stevens Road, SE on Dec. 24, 2014.
Additionally, the cellmate said Minor told him that he attempted to rob Lee about a week before to the shooting, but was unsuccessful. The cellmate said Minor heard rumors Lee was planning to retaliate and wanted to act, first.
The cellmate also told the jury that Minor said he dismantled the handgun he used to kill Lee and hid pieces of the gun in a friend’s residence.
Minor’s lawyer, Archie Nichols, said the cellmate was testifying under an agreement that if he told the truth, the prosecution would recommend he receive a shorter sentence for a second-degree murder while armed conviction in an unrelated homicide that occurred in June of 2013. Additionally, the cellmate testified in five other court cases in cooperation with prosecutors, which shows his only concern is getting out of jail, Nichols said.
According to the medical examiner who conducted Lee’s autopsy, there were three gunshot wounds, including a fatal wound that hit Lee’s right rib cage, heart and both lungs.
Blakey is currently serving an unrelated 22-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the homicide of Timothy Spicer in 2007. Blakey’s charges for Lee’s homicide were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Minor has been charged with second-degree murder while armed.
The trial is expected to continue on April 9.