Footage Said to Show Shooting Victim Crying For Help

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness.
Consider making a donation to help us continue our mission.

Prosecutors presented evidence in a shooting trial on March 31 including body-worn camera footage of the victim calling for his mother, saying he was shot in the back by a large man in a mask.

DC Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson ruled the remark was admissible as an “excited utterance.” meaning it is considered a spontaneous statement of a stressful moment.

Roger Jones, 42, is charged with aggravated assault knowingly while armed, two counts of possession of a firearm during crime of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon, fleeing a law enforcement officer, carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business with a prior felony, threat to injure or kidnap a person, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and simple assault for his alleged involvement in shooting that occurred on Jan. 22, 2022, on the 1400 Block of Oakie Street, NE.

A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who was at the scene of the shooting testified that he spoke with the victim and additional witnesses regarding a domestic situation involving Jones earlier in the night.

Two sisters, one of whom had a relationship with co-defendant Riley Benjamin at the time of the crime, shared the title to a silver Ford reportedly connected to this case. Benjamin ostensibly borrowed the car from his romantic partner at the time and she was allegedly able to identify Benjamin on surveillance footage at the crime scene from a shooting that occurred on Feb. 22, 2022. Both sisters testified that before this case, they had never met or heard of Jones.

There was also testimony about a shooting on Feb. 19, 2022, that caused the death of 31-year-old Maurice McRae two months later. Benjamin pleaded guilty to his involvement in both of these shootings on Aug. 30, 2024, and was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

More witness testimony is anticipated.