A defendant testified he acted in self-defense at trial in front of DC Superior Court Judge Dayna Dayson on Nov. 12.
David Pena, 49, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict. The charges are in connection to Pena’s alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Maurice Robinson, 24, on June 12, 2023 at the 2900 block of Southern Avenue, SE.
Defense attorney Dana Page called Pena to the stand.
Pena stated that on the morning of the incident, he was out shopping with his wife, looking for teething rings for his granddaughter. After he returned, he stopped home, made a quick run to the local liquor store, then came back and began making dinner for his kids.
It was then that Pena’s eldest daughter alerted him to a group gathering outside of their apartment unit, which included some of Pena’s children. He stated that he didn’t know what the group of people wanted, but that they were yelling.
Pena eventually found out that this group gathered because they were looking to fight one of his daughters. His daughter then started moving to go outside and meet the group.
“I yelled to her, ‘no’, because I didn’t want her to fight,” Pena stated. When they started fighting, Pena testified, he made his way outside. “Everything happened so fast,” he said.
He testified to seeing his younger children get maced by a member of the group, and saw his daughter engaging in a fight with others. He stated he had difficulty deciding who to help, but eventually began trying to get his daughter to safety, as she had been knocked to the ground.
As he was helping his daughter, Pena testified, he was knocked to the ground multiple times by someone in the group, although he didn’t know who. As he tried to leave the fight, he thought he heard someone shout “Blow his ass up,” and subsequently reach for their waistband.
It was at this point that Pena testified to pulling his own gun, a .38 caliber revolver, from his waistband and firing six shots in the direction of who he thought was going to fire at him.
When asked by Page why Pena thought someone reaching for their waistband had a gun, Pena responded that “[he] lives around 30th Street, [and] no one comes around there without a weapon… where I live, people get in gun fights at noon”.
After he fired his weapon, Pena stated that he grabbed all of his children, and ushered them inside. “I was the last one inside, making sure all my kids got in okay,” Pena said.
He described seeing all of his kids run into the bathroom to wash the mace out of their eyes when they got back to their apartment. Pena stated he removed his shirt, and set his gun on the bed. Eventually, he heard sirens and ran to the back stairwell.
Pena also admitted that he drank a half-gallon of Long Island iced tea in the stairwell. When asked why by Page, Pena stated he was “confused, hurt, [and] scared”.
On cross examination, the prosecution emphasized numerous times that Pena had been previously convicted of illegal firearm possession charges, and did not possess the firearm Pena used in this shooting legally. Pena affirmed that this was true.
Prosecutors asked Pena to demonstrate to the group how he physically put bullet casings into his gun. “You put one, then two, then three, four, five, six in,” they stated, with Pena agreeing. He also confirmed that following the shooting, he put his weapon on his bed, and it later disappeared – indicating that one of his children had taken the weapon.
When asked who had taken the weapon, Pena responded, “if I knew who had taken the gun, they wouldn’t have the gun”.
Pena was asked to confirm that he was an alcoholic and had been drinking in the “days leading up to the incident,” according to prosecutors. Pena said that while he is an alcoholic, he denied drinking the day before the incident.
Prosecutors also questioned Pena on his actions amidst the fight his daughter was in. “You weren’t trying to stop the fight?,” they asked. “I physically couldn’t stop everyone at once,” Pena responded.
Prosecutors claimed that Pena could have left the scene, instead of staying involved in the escalating fight. “You physically couldn’t leave the scene?,” they asked.
“I physically could not leave my children alone, no, ” Pena responded.
When asked how long Pena had to think about the incident and his story, Pena responded that “[his] story has been the same since day one”.
Prosecutors pressed about where he got the gun that was used in this incident. Pena admitted to purchasing the gun from an individual who sold drugs on 30th Street, but refused to name him when asked by the prosecutor.
The prosecutors also questioned Pena over the dangerous nature of 30th Street, prompting Pena to say “no one comes by 30th Street to fight without a weapon.” They questioned if “that day, you were one of those dangerous people”? Pena replied, “No, I wasn’t.”
On redirect, Page emphasized that Pena was trying to protect his daughter on the day of the incident. Pena recalled shooting five times because he “was scared,” adding that Robinson was coming toward him.
When Page asked what he was telling the jury, Pena replied, “My truth.”
Midway through the trial, Judge Dayson received a note from a juror who shared she was no longer able to keep an open mind about the case. After speaking privately with her, Judge Dayson confirmed that she had already made up her mind and could no longer devote sufficient attention to the case. Both parties agreed to excusing her from the trial.
Parties are slated to reconvene on Nov. 13.
