Hearing Concerns Penn State Student and Juvenile Accused in Non-Fatal Shooting

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On Feb. 29, DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun heard from two witnesses regarding a fatal shooting case.

Na’eem Butler, 20, a Pennsylvania State University student, and Ashton Inabinet, 16, are being charged with second-degree murder while armed for their alleged involvement in the fatal-shooting of 24-year-old Diamonte Lewis. The incident occurred on October 21, 2023, on the 900 block of U street, NW.

Inabinet is charged as an adult under Title 16.

According to court documents, Butler and Inabinet were hanging with a group of friends, when confronted by Lewis and his group of friends while walking on U Street. In their first altercation, Lewis’ group of friends allegedly asked Butler and Inabinet’s group for some marijuana. They declined, and Lewis and his friends immediately got upset, with somone allegedly punching one of Butler’s friends so hard, he dropped to the ground.

Once Butler and Inabinet’s group walked away, surveillance footage showed Lewis’ group following them, visibly picking up their pace to catch up to the group. Once the two groups were in close proximity, surveillance footage showed Lewis falling to the ground when Butler and Inabinet are allegedly seen shooting in his direction.

The prosecution’s first witness was the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) lead detective on the case who received a report from an eyewitness that Lewis was seen grabbing his waist band in the initial encounter between both groups.

The prosecution asked her what this motion implied, and the detective claimed that it could signify that an individual has a gun. When Lewis’ body was examined, no firearms were recovered.

In cross-examination, Butler’s defense attorney, Kevann Gardner, argued that Lewis was the first aggressor, since he allegedly approached Butler and Inabinet’s group asking for marijuana. Gardner claims that after the defendants said no and tried to get away from the situation, Lewis’ group is seen on surveillance footage speeding up to catch up to Butler’s group.

According to the detective’s testimony, the two groups had two physical altercations that were not fully captured on video.

For the second altercation, which was the shooting, the prosecution provided the court with footage from a crime camera located on the corner of U Street, NW.

The video was grainy, and very difficult to make out exactly what the individuals were doing. Gardner took a screenshot from the original video, and questioned the detective about what she saw.

Gardner claimed that one of Lewis’ friends can be seen with a gun in his hand, although the detective previously claimed that no one in Lewis’ group had a firearm.

Gardner tried to have the detective identify the firearm in Lewis’ friend’s hand, but she stated that she couldn’t see it.

Inabinet’s defense attorney, Stuart Sears, stated “These kids did nothing to provoke those two men,” referencing Lewis and his friend. Sears argued that there is no evidence that the defendants threatened Lewis or his friends.

Gardner’s next witness was from the Public Defender Service (PDS) and works as an investigative specialist.

The witness completed a review for the case and used a measuring wheel to compute the distance between the spot the two groups first came in contact and where the shooting occurred, which was about 2112 feet.

Due to time constraints, the preliminary hearing was unable to be continued.

Parties are slated to return March 4.

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