Parties argued about the victim’s cause of death, the defendant’s motivations, and the evidence found at the incident scene in closing arguments before DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee on June 10.
Juan Guerra, 34, is charged with second-degree murder for his alleged involvement in the death of his friend, Peter Miller III, 32, who died from blunt force trauma on the 900 block of Maine Avenue, SW on Oct. 6, 2021. Miller succumbed to his injuries on Oct. 11, 2021.
Prosecutors argued that Guerra strangled “his best friend” after an argument over a dice game. Guerra’s attorney, Kevin Mosely, painted a different picture, arguing that Guerra was acting in self-defense.
Following Guerra’s testimony the day before, the prosecution’s closing argument began with a 20-second timer. As the prosecutor stood before the jury, blank-faced, the courtroom was silent. When the timer expired, the prosecutor argued that 20 seconds was a third of the time it took for Guerra to strangle Miller.
All three experts called by the prosecution backed up this conclusion, they argued. Walking through each expert’s testimony and how it reinforced the conclusion that Miller was strangled, the prosecutor said, “When all these puzzle pieces are put together, the whole puzzle is clear. Peter Miller was strangled.”
The prosecutor explained a charge of second-degree murder does not require premeditation. “We know for sure there was a physical altercation,” the prosecutor said. Why it happened, “doesn’t matter.”
The case put on by Guerra’s attorneys was the prosecution’s next target. Guerra previously testified that Miller waved a gun at him. He told the jury that he feared for his life and attempted to take the gun away, which resulted in Miller’s death. The prosecutor said that Guerra’s words are “not some kind of special automatic truth.” They reminded the jury that when the police arrived at the scene of the incident, Guerra never mentioned a gun.
Guerra’s “story doesn’t make sense,” according to the prosecutor. A mutual friend of Guerra and Miller’s testified that Miller was very conscientious with his gun. He would always keep the magazine and the gun separate, the prosecutor argued, meaning there would be no reason for Guerra to fear for his life. When the gun was collected from the scene, there was no magazine in it or fingerprints that recognizably belonged to Guerra, said the prosecutor.
The prosecutor told the jury that if they do not believe that the evidence proved second-degree murder, they could find Guerra guilty of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. “Find him guilty,” the prosecutor said.
In the defense closing, Mosley reminded the jury that Guerra “has been carrying the weight of his best friend’s death on his shoulders.” Mosley argued that Guerra’s actions were consistent with self-defense – protecting himself while a gun was being pointed at his head.
Mosley walked through Miller’s injuries, including blunt force trauma to the face, top and side of the head, neck, and left arm. He refuted the prosecution’s claim that all three medical expert testimonies agreed on strangulation.
“Mr. Guerra didn’t strangle his friend for 62 seconds; just the idea of that alone is preposterous,” said Mosley.
Two doctors’ results suggested strangulation, but didn’t reach a definitive conclusion. Taking “the constellation of all the injuries” into context, blunt force trauma to the neck as the cause of death couldn’t be ruled out. The ambiguous order in which the injuries occurred and the lack of strangulation symptoms tended t supported Mosley’s contention of a desperate, rapid fight over the gun.
Mosley disagreed with the prosecution’s attempts to exclude the gun as a factor in the case. He noted that a magazine was found in the living room where the altercation occurred, along with two bullet cartridges. For Mosley, that served as proof of a physical dispute, not strangulation. Mosley asserted that the gun was found in a different room from the altercation because Guerra put it there to diffuse the situation.
The defense also highlighted Guerra’s remorse for Miller’s death. Mosley challenged the notion that his client was of “no help” during the incident. He participated in the 911 call, remained on the scene, reached out to Miller’s family, and “felt a wave of emotions.” Mosley emphasized that Guerra regretted lying to the police at the scene of the crime and wasn’t the best version of himself, but that does not make Guerra guilty.
“Tragedy is not a murder,” said Mosley.
A second prosecutor rebutted that if Guerra was to be believed, then all three experts would have been wrong or Miller would have defied medical science. When referring to the defense’s argument about the expert testimony, the prosecutor said, “You can’t just nitpick what’s good for your story.”
The defense’s theory about the gun was also subject to debate, as the prosecutors asked the jury to consider why no identifiable DNA of Guerra’s was found on the gun. “I’d imagine your hands are all over it,” they said.
“The law does not recognize strangling someone to death as self-defense,” the prosecutor said as they asked the jury to remain fair and impartial and consider all of the evidence. An enlarged photo of Miller as a baby was displayed as the prosecutor emphasized the life that was lost.
Parties will reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.
