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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- January 13, 2021
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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A DC Superior Court judge ruled that evidence against a defendant charged in connection with a homicide that occurred one April evening in the Shipley Terrace neighborhood of Southeast, DC has enough evidence to bring his case to trial.
Ravel Mills, 25, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting of Toussaunt Strong on April 18, 2020.
Around 6:53 p.m. that day, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were dispatched to the 3400 block of 24th Street, SE after gunfire detection technology picked up eight shots.
Officers would go on to recover eight 9mm cartridges scattered about the roadway of the crime scene. During the Jan. 13 preliminary hearing, the lead MPD detective on the case testified that no forensic evidence has traced those shell casings to Mills.
When responding officers arrived on scene, they found Strong suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was taken to the hospital, but did not survive. He was 28.
Surveillance footage shows an individual chasing the victim northbound on the east side of 24th Street and crossing to the west side, according to court documents. Strong limps as he flees, falling twice.
In one surveillance clip, the individual is seen extending his right arm in Strong’s direction as he runs away, but he then puts his hand back into his coat pocket. No surveillance footage of the shooting itself was recovered, and no witnesses said they saw the shooting. One witness does, however, describe hearing a loud noise.
The individual in the surveillance footage is seen wearing a unique jacket, which was traced back to the defendant, including through an Instagram picture and Body Worn Camera (BWC) footage from a police officer responding to a disorderly call in the area earlier on the day of the homicide. The patches on the jacket made it uniquely identifiable, according to court documents.
Judge Yvonne Williams ultimately ruled that the case has substantial probability, a higher standard than probable cause. She also decided to continue holding Mills at DC Jail. His next hearing, a felony status conference, is scheduled for March 4.
Andrea Keckley wrote this article