A one-time convicted murderer was acquitted of all charges in a killing on New Year’s Eve–the very same day the defendant admitted involvement in another murder.
Much of the case hinged on the testimony of a prosecution witness whom the defense the claimed was untruthful. The fatal shooting trial was argued before DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman and Jury rendered its verdict on June 11.
Additional reporting of the outcome shows to what extent the defense was able to undermine a witness who claimed to hear Thomas confess to the crime.
Randolph Thomas, 43, was charged with felony murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, robbery while armed, and first-degree burglary while armed. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Emmanuel Durant Jr., 19, on Dec. 31, 2009, on the 200 block of Webster Street, NE.
“This was a pre-planned home invasion,” said the prosecution, “but Randolph Thomas didn’t just take keys, cash, drugs, he took a life.”
The prosecution claimed Thomas was placed at the crime scene by cell phone tower data, evidence he possessed the muder weapon before and after the incident, and multiple correlating witness descriptions. The prosecution claimed this evidence left Thomas “buried in five feet of snow of circumstantial evidence.”
Cell tower data located the defendant near incident location, claimed prosecutors. From the data, the prosecution emphasized Thomas entering the area during a two week period within 40 minutes of the homicide.
The prosecution cited the two surviving victims’ descriptions of the two perpetrators, claiming various features matched Thomas, such as big lips, height, and facial hair.
The murder weapon was alleged to be Thomas’ firearm, which witnesses testified he called “his baby.” According to court records, ballistics comparisons linked the murder weapon to the fatal shooting of Chardale Bowe on Dec. 31, 2009 on the 4800 block of North Capitol Street, NE. Thomas accepted a plea deal for his involvement in Bowe’s murder in 2014.
Pierce Suen, Thomas’ attorney, accused the prosecution’s key witness of being, “a known obstructor of justice,” reportedly selling lies to reduce his own sentence.
According to Suen, the witness’ report of Thomas’ confession to him did not match physical evidence and eyewitness accounts. For example, Suen noted the witness claimed Thomas mentioned an unaccounted for vehicle and pillow case.
The defense then claimed that if true, Thomas’ alleged confession could be corroborated by another specific witness who was not located by investigators.
Suen pointed out that many details of the witnesses’ story could have been learned from a Washington Post article about the incident and the documentary, 17 Blocks, based on Durant’s family.
He also argued the witness had incentives to lie to reduce his own murder sentence and receive financial compensation. The defense asserted that the witness “made a deal with the devil” and the prosecution “bought [the] claims.”
In their rebuttal, the prosecution argued that if the witness was fabricating testimony, he had opportunities to create a more convincing story and also would not commit perjury at risk of increasing his current sentence. The prosecution reiterated the connection of Thomas to surrounding cell towers and witness descriptions.
Parties are scheduled to reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.
