Homicide Defendant Guilty of All Charges

By Mia Febles - February 16, 2024
Court | Featured | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Feb. 15, a homicide defendant was found guilty of all charges before DC Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe. 

Terrell Poe, 37, was charged with first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a prior convict, for his involvement in the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Christopher Washington on Sept. 23, 2020, on the 400 block of Southern Avenue, SE. 

“The more time you spend thinking about the man who lost his life, the less you think about the man who took it,” said the prosecution during closing statements. 

Throughout the trial, the prosecution provided the jury with evidence they believed could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Poe committed the crime. The information included DNA, surveillance footage before, during, and after the incident, and multiple eyewitness testimonies of individuals who saw Poe driving a vehicle leading up to the murder.  

Prosecutors presented surveillance footage of Poe allegedly stumbling while getting into a white truck after dropping a phone at the scene of the crime. The phone, which was collected by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), belonged to Poe and proved by comparing an iCloud account, Poe’s phone number, DNA, and photos of the defendant in an album on the phone. The phone also had photos of a gun that allegedly matches the bullet fragments found in Washington’s autopsy. 

During the trial, Poe’s defense attorney, Marnitta King, highlighted that there were many inconsistencies in witness accounts. According to King, an eyewitness to the crime pointed out Poe in a suspect lineup, but the image did not match the descriptions of the shooter. 

King also mentioned that there was no evidence that Poe had his phone at the time of the shooting, contradicting what the prosecution stated previously. Nine days after Poe’s arrest, a different phone was confiscated from him. The prosecution did not present any evidence regarding the other phone, which King questioned. 

Throughout the trial, tensions were high, including when an eyewitness was testifying and an unidentified individual in the courtroom made apparently threatening gestures towards the person. As a result, multiple jurors, and the witness, voiced their concern for their safety. 

Following a day-and-a-half long deliberations, the jury of 12 found Poe guilty of all charges in connection to the murder of Washington. 

A sentencing was scheduled for April 19.