Detective Testifies About Firearm Linked to 2020 Homicide Case

By Anthoine Godin - March 13, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Victims |

On March 13, an Arlington Police Department (APD) detective testified before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt and detailed the arrest of an alleged associate of a defendant in a 2020 homicide case. 

Koran Jackson, 23, Tyiion Kyree Freeman, 24, and Stephen Nelson, 22, are three of five individuals charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, assault with the intent to kill while armed, first-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020 on the 600 block of S Street, NW. The shooting also left a second juvenile victim located in the vicinity suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the right leg.  

The case also involves alleged co-conspirators  Reginald Steele, 24, and Aaron Brown, 27.

The arrested individual, who was identified as Freeman’s associate, is currently held in Virginia on unknown charges. The prosecution said he had a gun found in a police search linked to the one that killed Lukes.

The prosecution brought in a member of the APD who was a patrol officer on Aug. 1, 2020, and had been on duty in the Crystal City and Pentagon City neighborhoods in Arlington, Virginia. He followed a a Mercedes because he suspected the driver was drunk. Approaching the car in an empty parking lot he detected the smell of marijuana.

The officer testified that as backup arrived, he informed the people in the car that they would be searched and asked them to exit the vehicle. According to the officer, then a man “took off running”. 

When he was taken into custody the officer allegedly found a black, Smith and Wesson, M&P handgun on the individual.

According to court documents, a type of firearm linked to Lukes murder was a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol.

Testimony is scheduled to continue on March 14

In relation to the alleged associate, the prosecution brought in an intelligence unit Sergeant from the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) to authenticate records of three calls made by the alleged

Parties are slated to return March 14.