Defense Motions to Suppress Witness Identification in Homicide

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Defense attorneys in a homicide case filed a motion to suppress identification of the defendant in front of DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Jan. 31.

Jerome Israel, 19, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed, two counts of carrying a pistol without a license, two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and two counts of destruction of property, for his alleged involvement in the death of ChaQuan Barbett, 24, on Aug. 23, 2022. The incident occurred on the 2300 block of Minnesota Avenue, SE.

On Dec. 23, Janai Reed and Lisbeth Saperstein, Israel’s attorneys, filed a motion to suppress the identification of Israel as the suspect, which was provided by a witness to the police. According to the attorneys, the witness who provided the identification told officers he’d be eager to help them with identifying other homicide suspects if he was released from jail.

The prosecution called a member of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), who was a homicide detective working the case. The officer helped introduce video evidence of the witness’s statements about the identity of the suspect. Multiple interviews with the witness were entered into evidence. Pictures shown to the witness during the interviews were also included

The defense argued the individual presented in these pictures did not match the defendant, citing differences in facial hair and complexion.

Parties had to break for time and are slated to resume Feb 12.