DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt heard testimony from eyewitnesses and police investigators in a homicide trial on Sept. 16.
Reginald Steele, 26, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, conspiracy, 10 counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, 11 counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, four counts of carrying a pistol without a license, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and five counts of possession of an unregistered firearm.
The charges are in connection to his alleged involvement in four shootings, including the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, at the 600 block of S Street, NW on March 1, 2020. Another individual sustained injuries during the incident.
Steele was also allegedly involved in a non-fatal shooting on March 1, 2020 at the unit block of Channing Street, NE, and a non-fatal shooting on Feb. 22, 2020 at the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW. No individuals sustained injuries.
Additionally, Steele faces charges for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting on Feb. 24, 2020 at the 1700 block of Ninth Street, NW. Three individuals sustained injuries during the incident.
Two witnesses who were called focused on information related to the Channing Street shooting.
A witness who lived on the unit block of Channing Street, NE, testified he called 911 on March 1, 2020 following the sound of gun shots. The witness said that he looked out of a window immediately following the gunfire and saw a Black male running down the alley headed south.
Home camera surveillance video captured a Kia Soul driving away following four shots fired. The witness resided in the 2400 block of North Capitol Street, NE, directly next to the unit block of Channing Street, NE.
A 2024 trial verdict found that Steele’s co-defendants, Tyiion Freeman, 26, Koran Jackson, 25, Stephen Nelson, 34 and Aaron Brown, 29, stole the same Kia Soul seen in the video footage and used it in the Channing Street and Malachi Lukes shootings. Prosecutors claim Steele was part of the group.
Cross examination by defense attorney Megan Allburn focused on the inability to see who was actually in the car, as well as if anyone entered or exited the vehicle while it was off camera. The witness agreed that it was impossible to identify any inhabitants of the car, just that the car was present in the alley.
“How many cars did you see in that alley?” prosecutors pushed back in redirect. “One,” the witness responded.
A first class patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was called, testifying about his interaction with Steele’s former co-defendant,Brown.
The officer was instructed by a fellow detective to seize Brown’s cellphone, because Brown was a person of interest in the Lukes’ murder.
“When you say you were trying to get the phone, does that mean you didn’t have a warrant for the phone?” Allburn questioned, which drew a sustained objection from the prosecution.
Allburn rephrased the question to ask, “[Brown] didn’t hand over the phone from his pockets, did he?”, to which the officer confirmed that he had not.
The prosecution called another MPD detective who formerly worked on patrol in a ward that Steele was known to frequent.
On March 18, 2020, the detective was shown an image of Steele by another MPD officer to make an identification, in which she said, “That’s Gordo all day.” Gordo is the rapper name that Steele allegedly used, according to the prosecution. The detective provided an identification by pointing out Steele in the courtroom during the hearing.
A forensic scientist was called in a continuation from testimony given on Sept. 15, during which the defense focused on evidence mishandling.
Redirect clarified that there were no errors currently present on evidence admitted into the trial, and that all mislabeled evidence was corrected.
Court documents show that the blue tape with fingerprints was recovered from the Kia Soul car. While the analyst testified that more than 20 fingerprints were identified, it wasn’t her job to match the prints to a person.
The witness also tried pulling prints or DNA samples from two weapons involved in the case, however none were found.
Parties are set to reconvene on Sept. 17.
