A fleet manager for the stolen car the prosecution says was used in a mass shooting testified before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on June 16.
Erwin Dubose, 31, Kamar Queen, 28, Damonta Thompson, 28, and William Johnson-Lee, 22, are charged with conspiracy, premeditated first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, among other charges, for their alleged involvement in the mass shooting that killed 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson, 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner. The incident occurred on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW on Sept. 4, 2021, and injured three additional individuals.
Mussay Rezene, 32, and Toyia Johnson, 53, are charged with accessory after the fact while armed and tampering with physical evidence for their alleged involvement in assisting the other defendants discard evidence and avoid arrests.
A former fleet manager at Zap Car Rental, the agency that provided the car said to be used used in the shooting and later reported stolen by Johnson, took the stand. He testified that in a fleet of about 50 to 60 cars, the rental company only had one black Honda Accord. The car was verified in a photo and video evidence.
The manager also confirmed prosecutors’ evidence of a rental contract for two cars in Johnson’s name, the second of which was the Accord. In testimony, it was explained the manager met Johnson when she initially rented the car and was present the day she came in to report it stolen. It was noted rental cars cars are tracked with a GPS device.
However, in cross-examination, it was revealed that the detectives on the case were told that GPS data isn’t necessarily accurate.
An investigative analyst in the homicide section of the US Attorney’s Office created a presentation summarizing findings from subpoenas on Instagram account records, media, and texts. The accounts were authenticated and tied to verified emails and phone numbers. However, concerns were raised that the full context of the messages was lacking.
Thompson’s defense attorney, Elizabeth Weller, argued that a lack of evidence is simply a lack of evidence.
Judge Kravitz agreed and warned the parties not to make unsubstiantiated comments about the absence of certain Instagram evidence. He stated that evidence should be treated as if it doesn’t exist and should not be charactized.
The court went through part of one of the two summary slideshows. This one contains a timeline of photos and videos from posts and stories tied to accounts of interest in the investigation, labeled with the timestamp and account. The media displayed defendants together.
The prosecution presented a timeline of media posts and accounts from May to September of 2021 allegedly tying the defendants together.. Judge Kravitz made a point to emphasize to the jury that words and symbols used in the media were admissible only to prove emotion and the state of the person who posted them.
A deputy medical examiner at the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that all three victims from the mass shooting died of fatal gunshot wounds in a manner of homicide. The witness determined that Joyner had four gunshot wounds, Braxton had one gunshot wound, and Dyson had three gunshot wounds and one graze wound. None of the victims could have survived without medical intervention.
Parties were asked to reconvene on June 18.
