DNA Testing Links Murder Weapons to Defendants in Homicide Trial

By Ayda Atici [former] - January 25, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Jan. 24, an expert witness testified before a jury in DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo’s courtroom that both defendants in a homicide trial allegedly left behind DNA evidence on the murder weapons and many items from the crime scene.

Vorreze Thomas, 25, and his uncle Delonta Stevenson, 28, are charged with conspiracy, first-degree murder while armed, and two counts of assault with intent to kill, among other charges, for their alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Terrance Allen. The incident occurred on Jan. 18, 2021, on the 3000 block of Stanton Road, SE, and left two other individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. 

All three victims were found inside a vehicle at the scene.

The prosecution began by calling an expert witness regarding messages exchanged between one of the defendants and one of the surviving victims. The witness collected digital evidence for the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences (DCFS) at the time of the shooting, and was responsible for data extraction from cell phones for this case which included pictures, videos and records of phone calls. 

The witness presented the jury with various screenshots of messages allegedly between Stevenson and one of the surviving victims of the shooting, in which the victim warns Stevenson to tell his nephew, Thomas, not to spend so much time near his neighborhood.

Stevenson’s defense attorney Elizabeth Weller asked if emojis or gifs would show up in the report of cell phone activity he extracted, to which he responded they would not. Weller then stated that the meaning of these texts could possibly have originally been very different had they included emojis or gifs.

The prosecution then called another expert witness who works in a forensic DNA unit to testify regarding DNA testing he analyzed from the objects found at the crime scene including a face mask, an American Tactical Rifle, a pistol, a steering wheel and driver controls, and the interior front passenger door. 

The witness stated that all of these objects were very likely a match to at least one of the defendants. The face mask had DNA from two individuals, but it was more likely Thomas’s.

The American Tactical Rifle had DNA from four individuals, and after accounting for inconsistencies in the data that could be caused by the defendants’ similar DNA as uncle and nephew, it was more likely linked to Stevenson and Thomas.

The pistol also had DNA from four individuals, and while it was not found to match Thomas’s DNA, it did link to Stevenson. The steering wheel and driver controls had DNA from two people and while Stevenson was excluded it, was likely a match to Thomas.

Finally, the interior front passenger door of the vehicle had DNA from four people, and it was more likely to be Stevenson and Thomas than others in the sample.

Due to time constraints, the expert witness was unable to finish his testimony.

Parties are slated to return Jan. 25.