An eyewitness described one in a series of shootings in front of DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on Sept. 15.
Reginald Steele, 26, is charged with conspiracy, first-degree murder, 10 counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, 11 counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, four counts of carrying a pistol without a license, five counts of possession of an unregistered firearm, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
These charges stem from Steele’s alleged involvement in four separate shootings including the murder of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes and injury of another juvenile on March 1, 2020, on the 600 block of S Street, NW. Steele’s accused of a separate shooting the same day with no reported injuries on the unit block of Channing Street, NE.
The other incidents Steele is accused of include a non-fatal shooting that injured two individuals on Feb. 22, 2020 on the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW, and a non-fatal shooting that injured three on Feb. 24, 2020 on the 1700 block of 9th Street, NW.
The prosecution called an eyewitness to the shooting that occurred on Channing Street, NE who testified he was standing at the entrance of the Channing Street alley when the shooting took place, and took cover inside a corner store across the street.
This witness first testified in 2022 as part of Steele’s grand jury investigation, and grew up about a mile from where the Channing Street shooting occurred, but said he still frequents the area.
The witness testified that minutes leading up to the shooting, he was standing on the corner of Channing and North Capitol Street, where he saw a silver Kia Soul with dark tinted windows moving very slowly, and pulling into the Channing Street alleyway.
At this point, the witness testified, he saw two individuals, one man wearing a black sweater, the other wearing glasses and a green sweater, with guns drawn. He said that he ran and took cover in between two cars before running into a corner store across the street.
After gunfire stopped, the witness said, he saw the Kia Soul travel down North Capitol Street with the front and back passenger windows rolled down. The individual with the glasses and green sweater was sitting on the back passenger side, yelling profanities out of the window, according to the witness.
Prosecutors presented surveillance footage and body-worn camera footage of the witness walking away from the scene and interacting with responding officers. The witness said he was not shot, and elected not to call 911 or give the police any information at the time.
He said his only connection to the area is that’s where his cousin lives.
“I will go down there, but I’m not a part of what they got going on,” he said. “My neighborhood is just a regular old neighborhood.”
The trial is set to continue on Sept. 16.
