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By
Isabelle Chiu [former]
- July 25, 2022
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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On July 25, the preliminary hearing for a homicide defendant continued with defense attorney Jason Clark questioning the lead detective of the investigation on his interviews with each witness and their potential bias.
Amard Jefferson, 23, is charged with second-degree murder while armed in connection to the Aug. 7, 2021 shooting of 20-year-old Kendall Brown on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE where Jefferson resided with his then-girlfriend, who was Brown’s friend. According to court documents, the shooting occurred after a verbal altercation between Brown and Jefferson concerning some missing items.
The first witness, according to the detective, used to live with the defendant’s girlfriend before moving out after an argument. The witness told the detective she, Brown, and the second witness were at the girlfriend’s apartment to pick up her clothes and alcohol on the day of the shooting.
The witness also provided a video of her, Brown, and the second witness forcing their way into the defendant’s girlfriend’s apartment. The girlfriend can be heard saying “get out” before the three individuals make their way inside and engage in a verbal altercation with Jefferson and his girlfriend, the detective said.
The witness reported seeing a gun in Jefferson’s front pocket before Brown and the defendant began arguing in another room. The witness told Brown to “calm down” before she heard a gunshot and ran out of the apartment.
Clark asked the detective whether the witness had held any animosity towards the defendant and asked whether the witness and Jefferson’s girlfriend had ever been romantically or sexually involved. The detective said he was unsure.
Clark questioned the detective about a text message from Brown to the defendant’s girlfriend stating, “you want [the witness] to be your gf fake gay ass.” He also pointed out a statement by the second witness, who said she believed the first witness and the defendant’s girlfriend “were going to get together in the future.”
Additionally, the detective said the witness admitted to having a memory disorder that occasionally led to blackouts, including on the day of the shooting.
When Clark asked the detective about the second witness, the detective said the witness admitted she believed there could potentially be violence at the apartment before she went inside. The witness also saw Jefferson’s gun protruding from his pocket and heard the first witness trying to calm Brown down before the gun was fired.
The third witness the detective interviewed, Jefferson’s girlfriend, said she had been getting harassed by the first witness about getting her clothes prior to the shooting.
The detective told Clark the girlfriend believed Brown and the others “were there to fight” and alleged that Brown punched Jefferson first before the two started fighting.
Clark said the girlfriend had given several inconsistent statements to the police, including whether or not she saw Jefferson with a firearm and whether she and the defendant left the building through the front door or the back.
DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun scheduled the preliminary hearing to continue on July 26 for the prosecutor’s re-questioning of the detective.