A homicide defendant and victim’s close friend testified before a jury on Sept. 25, in DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan’s courtroom.
Jerrell Smith, 32, is charged with aggravated assault knowingly while armed for the alleged non-fatal stabbing of a victim on June 2, 2023. Court documents are not clear on where the incident occurred but police responded at the United Medical Center on the 1300 block of Southern Ave, SE.
On Sept. 24, a charge of assault with intent to kill while armed was dropped.
In the jury trial, prosecutors called on a witness who identified Smith as a close friend of more than 20 years. The man, who claimed to have been driving the vehicle–in effect the crime scene–highlighted that Smith and the other two passengers that were in the vehicle were like his brothers.
The man explained that the group was on route to a birthday party in Upper Marlboro, MD, when the victim, who sat in the backseat next to Smith, leaned over and said he needed to go to the hospital. The witness said he did not see what exactly occurred in the backseat because he was driving while playing loud music.
However, the witness paid attention to the victim, who appeared to have bled from the neck.
After driving the victim to United Medical Center Hospital at the 1300 block of Southern Avenue, SE, the witness said he was approached by Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers who asked for details about the incident.
In a body camera footage shown in court, the witness identified Smith as the individual who he claimed “sliced my brother’s throat.”
The witness claimed that MPD officers told him he needed to sign a consent form allowing them to search his vehicle, otherwise they would impound his car. The witness consented to the search.
The witness said that he was not brought in for questioning until Sept. 24. He emphasized in his testimony, “I did not want to be here today. I did because I got locked up to be here. I did not want to relive the same story. 18 [US Marshals], 6 a. m., put me in a car, drove me to court, and made me sit in a cell all day.”
Prosecutors called on a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective who was an officer when she was dispatched to UMC on the night of the incident.
The detective recalled seeing a blood trail from the entrance of the emergency room that followed to the victim’s room.
The detective stated a security officer who worked at UMC had given her details about the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger, and offered to take her to the vehicle, which was parked towards the end of the parking lot.
The vehicle, which was registered to Smith’s close friend–the witness–had an open trunk and rear passenger door.
After seeing the vehicle, the officer testified she approached Smith’s close friend for an interview. The detective said she did ask for the man’s consent to search his vehicle, but she did not tell him that he needed to sign a consent form.
Upon searching the vehicle, the detective said she saw blood stains on the back passenger seats.
According to the detective, Smith was not present at any time during her investigation at the hospital.
The trial is slated to resume on Sept. 29.
