The defense challenged the investigation in a homicide case after the lead detective revealed her decision not to pursue evidence the victim was armed before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on June 16.
Irv Duff Jr., 35, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, obstructing justice, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Darnell Gibson on the unit block of Forrester Street, SW, on Aug. 1, 2023. Gibson sustained three gunshot wounds to his chest and arm.
The prosecution called on three witnesses to testify about investigative, medical, and character evidence in Duff’s trial.
During cross-examination, Duff’s attorney, Kevann Gardner, challenged the reliability of a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective’s investigation.
“Whether or not [Gibson] had a gun, that is important to an investigation in regards to if Mr. Duff was defending himself,” said Gardner.
The lead detective conducted multiple interviews with witnesses before their grand jury testimony. Gardner alleged during an interview that occurred two days after the incident, Duff’s girlfriend mentioned Gibson’s gun.
The detective explained Gibson told his girlfriend he had possessed a gun, however, the detective did not investigate it because it was “irrelevant at that point.”
“Its no longer relevant because you wanted to convict Mr. Duff,” said Gardner. The detective denied Gardner’s claim, explaining that Gibson’s girlfriend did not see him with a gun on the day of the incident.
Gardner also brought up that Duff’s girlfriend, who was a key witness, lied to law enforcement and changed her story multiple times throughout the investigation.
“The first time she claimed she was scared of Mr. Duff is in that MPD interrogation room after the detectives had told her they did not believe [her] story” Gardner said.
Gardner also asked the detective about two phones found at the crime scene, Gibson’s phone and a phone from inside his house. The detective said she did not acquire search warrants for either phone.
The prosecution also called a forensic pathologist who performed Gibson’s autopsy to testify about his wounds which were found on the left side of chest, the right side of his back, and his right shoulder. All of the wound tracks were back to front.
During Gardner’s cross-examination, the witness testified that there was no way for the autopsy to determine the position of Gibson’s body when he was shot.
Duff’s girlfriend’s sister also testified that she received a call from her sister’s friend before the incident, alerting her that the witness’ sister was in danger. When the witness called her sister to order her an Uber, her sister refused to leave her apartment complex, where the incident occurred, until police arrived.
The witness also claimed that her sister added Duff to the phone call. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time,” the witness said.
Parties are slated to reconvene on June 17.
