Case Acquitted: Closing Arguments in Drug-Related Homicide Trial

By Sadie Herman [former] , Lexie Manning [former] - October 13, 2023
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

This case has been acquitted.

On Oct. 12, parties delivered closing arguments regarding a 2017 homicide case about a possible drug deal gone wrong in front of DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun and a jury. 

Cedric Alexander, also known as Tony White, 52, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, robbery while armed, two counts of possession during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license outside the home or place of business with a prior felony for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Daquan Hooks on the 1900 block of 13th Street, SE on March 23, 2017. 

The prosecutors started by quoting one of Alexander’s recorded jail calls with his ex-wife. 

“I’m gonna have to answer to God for that,”Alexander said on the call, to which the prosecutor said one would only say this if  “something extremely serious happened”.  

The prosecutor discussed Alexander’s ex-wife’s testimony, and reminded the jury she explained that she heard significant information in Alexander’s phone call in the early morning hours the day of the crime.

She heard him saying to someone that he “needs a ride and a gun”. There are messages from that morning that have been deleted, most likely coordinating pickup with an accomplice, the prosecution said. 

The prosecutor insisted this was Alexander’s way of “laying his trap” for Hooks, and getting him to meet up. 

According to phone records, the last person to speak to Hooks on the phone was Alexander, and the prosecutor exclaimed that this was “the last phone call he will ever take for the rest of his life”. 

The prosecutor then referenced the impact of Hooks’ death on his loved ones.  According to prosecutors, when Hooks died, the news spread throughout the community. “His loss was felt.”

Prosecutors also discussed what occurred after Alexander returned home the morning of the incident.

His ex-wife testified he had a large ziploc bag, full of smaller ziploc bags possibly related to a drug purchase. 

According to Alexander’s ex-wife, that same morning, she witnessed her husband go outside and throw things away in the dumpster, including the jacket he wore the day of the incident.

The prosecutors brought up jail calls possibly about getting rid evidence, and going to extra lengths to get drugs from Hooks.

“What did I have to do to get that s***? You seen me throw them clothes away? What did that mean? That mean I broke the law. I gotta answer to God for that s***!,” he reportedly said in the call. 

The prosecution played another jail call with Alexander’s ex-wife where he says “It’s trying to come back and bite me”.

The prosecution ended by referencing a metaphor the defense used in their opening statement. The defense counsel referred to a puzzle, and how this case has many missing pieces. The prosecutor said, “Even with missing pieces in a puzzle, you can still see the picture”.

Judge Okun then called upon defense counsel to deliver their closing arguments. 

“[Alexander] is here because of his calls and his texts”, Sellano Simmons stated.

Simmons explained that Hooks’ family members described him as a drug dealer, and that there could be many people who could had a motive to kill him. 

“There’s been no evidence to show that [Alexander] shot and killed Hooks”, Simmons said. According to Simmons, there was no report of gunshots by any witnesses or by the Shotspotter platform, which has several detectors throughout the city to alert the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of shootings. 

Simmons said testimony from Alexander’s family was questionable because the two of them were estranged and he was unlikely to confide in that individual about committing murder. Simmons also said the family member took drugs from Hooks’ dead body, claiming he did want Hooks to get charged with possession.

Simmons questioned the real motivation behind taking these drugs. asking, “How does a dead man catch a charge?”. He also pointed out that Hooks sold his drugs with pictures of the devil on the containers, something Alexander’s ex-wife didn’t mention.

Simmons also discussed Hooks’ stolen vehicle. “If [Alexander’s] DNA was in that car, we would have known,” Simmons said.

As for Alexander’s deleted texts, Simmons says Alexander was afraid he would wrongly be accused of Alexander’s murder.

“There was no DNA, no fingerprints, and no ballistics,” Simmons claimed. 

The jury then began deliberations, which are expected to last for several days.