Judge Admits Error and Declares a Mistrial in Five-Year-Old Homicide Case

By D.C. Witness Staff - May 11, 2023
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DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt admitted she erred in not telling jurors that testimony from a  key prosecution witness in a double murder trial was “inadmissible hearsay.”  “I will fall on a sword,” Judge Brandt said as she declared a mistrial in court on May 10.  

Alphonso Walker, 45, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Dalonte Wilson, 23, and Antone Brown, 44, near the 400 block of 61st Street, NE, on April 25, 2018.  Walker has been held in the DC Jail since December 2018. 

At issue was a statement made in trial by the witness on May 9 about a phone conversation she had with an individual who allegedly knew about the crime:  “Your date ( implied to be Walker) shot Minimoe and BeyBey (implied to be nicknames for Brown and Wilson).”

Walker’s defense lawyers said this was prosecutorial misconduct on the grounds the witness was simply relating what she heard and the comment had no basis in fact.  At that point, Judge Brandt adjourned the proceedings.  

In court on May 10, defense lawyer Prescott Loveland argued, “Inadmissible hearsay has gotten before the ears of the jury.”

Loveland also charged that the prosecution tactic took him by surprise and compromised Walker’s chances of getting a fair trial.  “Mr. Walker is fighting for his life,” declared Loveland who demanded the judge declare a mistrial with prejudice. 

While refusing to do so, Judge Brandt underscored the defense’s point saying, “This trial is about Mr. Walker and his constitutional rights.”

For its part the prosecution said it wasn’t trying to “sneak something in” and didn’t realize that “havoc” would result from the disputed testimony.  Judge Brandt called the prosecution’s actions a “gaffe” and that the situation put them on the “hot seat.” 

During the remainder of the session defense and prosecution lawyers sparred over how Judge Brandt could instruct the jury to reconsider the testimony without prejudicing the case.  One option was to tell the jury to ignore the witness’s testimony altogether or just part of it; either way prosecutors felt it would hurt their argument.

When an impasse was obvious, Judge Brandt declared a mistrial and set a conference to discuss a new trial for May 12 at 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, family members for both victims were present during the session, and Brown’s sister told D.C. Witness she considered the trial a “S***show from the beginning” and was disappointed by the outcome, which has taken nearly a year.  However, she said she plans to attend the new trial hoping for justice.