Judge Denies Motions to Suppress Evidence in Upcoming Shooting Trial

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DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park denied multiple defense motions that would suppress the prosecution’s accumulation of evidence leading up to a three co-defendant trial on June 27.

Purnell Jackson, 38, Charles Turner, 38, and Kharee Jackson, 32, are charged with conspiracy, eight counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, three counts of aggravated assault knowingly while armed, unarmed carjacking, nine counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside a home or place of business, second-degree burglary, two counts of carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business, and possession of an unregistered firearm.

The charges stem from their alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting that occurred on Aug. 24, 2022 on the unit block of Quincy Place, NE that injured three people.

According to court documents, the defendants stopped and exited a vehicle at the intersection of Quincy Place and Lincoln Road, fired at a group of people, and immediately fled the area.

A motion to exclude online evidence from the defendants’ Instagram and Youtube accounts was denied after Judge Park found the accounts contain pictures of the defendants in jewelry and clothing worn during the incident as well as records of messages between the defendants.

Judge Park stated there appeared to be no issue of relevance in this case given the contents of the evidence. The prosecution will still have to make an argument for the evidence to be admitted at trial.

Turner’s defense attorney, Lauren Morehouse, filed a separate motion for the prosecution to turn over admitted jail call records to the defense. The motion was denied for now as the prosecution may admit further records prior to the trial, which is still a year and a half away. Judge Park indicated he is open to revisiting the motion citing that the efficiency of trial will be helped if the prosecution turns over its records.

A third motion was raised to suppress the search warrants that allowed authorities to collect evidence from the defendant’s personal social media accounts. Defense claimed the warrants were over broad and did not specify the timeframe and contents of evidence sought. Judge Park denied the motion, stating that Purnell Jackson’s accounts provided sufficient probable cause to justify the search warrants as they include evidence of a motive for the attack and for possession of a firearm. He also stated the search warrant requests satisfied the court’s particularity condition.

Parties are set to reconvene on Oct. 17.