“They don’t care that they’re violent. They don’t care that they’re shooting people,” argued the prosecutor in a hearing before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Jan. 12.
The matter under consideration was a triple-shooting, one from a shotgun blast leaving the victim fighting for life, another from a semi-automatic pistol that killed a teen-ager in what the prosecution described as a gang-related incident. A third victim was shot in the leg.
Zephaniah Wright, 19, was fatally shot and a second victim injured outside the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro Station on the 3700 block of Georgia Avenue, NW. Less than five minutes earlier, another individual was shot in front of the Petworth Recreation Center on the 800 block of Taylor Street, NW.
Jose Hernandez, 19, was originally charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed in connection with two drive-by shootings in the Petworth neighborhood on April 29, 2025. However, he accepted a plea deal for committing second-degree murder while armed, aggravated assault while armed, and aggravated assault, which could put him in jail for 25 years.
Jayden Wells, 18, is also charged as a co-defendant with first-degree premeditated murder for his alleged involvement in the shootings. His case was at issue in the current hearing.
Arrest warrants for Hernandez and Wells allege the shootings were linked to an ongoing feud between two criminal gangs–the Columbia Heights Village (CHV) and Kennedy Street (KDY) crews. The defendants are reportedly associated with CHV, while Wright and a surviving victim are linked to KDY.
Surveillance video allegedly showed four individuals in the suspected vehicle traveling between the crime scenes. The prosecutor said it was impossible not to see that Wells was in the car.
“He jumped out of a window to avoid law enforcement,” she said. Officers found buckshot evidence. The buckshot wound from the shotgun was described as a “giant shot in the back” leaving some thirty “defects” or injuries.
“We’re way beyond probable cause,” said the prosecutor.
In defending Wells, his attorney, David Akulian, described the case against his client as circumstantial, lacking ballistic evidence linking a weapon to the shootings. The only direct connection to Hernandez is that they were in the same car, said Akulian
“Everyone in this vehicle was involved in this murder,” said the prosecutor. “It’s clear that there were four firearms in that vehicle and that resulted in a very young person dying,”she said.
Judge Ryan ultimately agreed and found probable cause that Wells was culpable in the murderous shooting spree. “The other explanations in the evidence don’t carry the day,” he said. Judge Ryan noted that there were multiple witness identifications of Wells including family members and that he was likely the one in the back seat that fired the shotgun.
The prosecutor said Wells should stay in jail because there were no conditions that could guarantee his safe release to the community awaiting trial.
However, Akulian painted a different picture, saying that Wells was a good student, earned his high school diploma and had strong family support in that his mother and father were in the courtroom.
There was a brief discussion at the bench about Wells’ previous encounters with law enforcement as a juvenile. However, there was no criminal history disclosed. Still, the prosecutor said that images said to be of Wells brandishing weapons on Instagram were suggestive of gang affiliation.
In explaining his decision to detain Wells, Judge Ryan pointed out that the shootings, beyond their immediate lethality, posed an even greater danger.
“These are shootings that are terrifying people that have nothing to do with the vendetta going on between the two groups.” said Judge Ryan.
He scheduled the next hearing in the case for March 20.
