Judge Halts Proceeding After Tiff Between Lawyers in Murder, Conspiracy Trial

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After a lengthy cross-examination by a defense lawyer, a frustrated DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt abruptly ended the May 1 proceeding in a murder and conspiracy trial. Tension had been building as defense and prosecution lawyers bickered about a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sergeant’s time on the stand.

Koran Jackson, 23, Tyiion Kyree Freeman, 24, and Stephen Nelson, 33, are three of five individuals charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, assault with the intent to kill while armed, first-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020 on the 600 block of S Street, NW. The shooting also left a second juvenile victim located in the vicinity suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the right leg.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has attempted to connect Jackson, Freeman, and Nelson to additional shootings that occurred on Feb. 22, Feb. 24, and a second shooting on March 1, 2020. The prosecution alleges a firearm conspiracy of the defendants, in which they aimed to obtain and use specific weapons in Lukes’ homicide.

The case also involves alleged co-conspirators Reginald Steele, 24, and Aaron Brown, 27.

The prosecution called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sergeant who responded to the Feb. 22, 2020 shooting that left two victims uninjured on the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW.

The witness stated he talked to one of the victim’s mothers, but Judge Brandt ruled he could only characterize the mother’s demeanor and not her explanation of what occurred as possible hearsay . “She was distraught,” the witness stated.

According to the witness, one victim seemed upset while her boyfriend, the other victim, was calm. However, he “seemed like he was holding back.”

The prosecution then called an MPD detective that responded to the crime scene of the Feb. 24, 2020 shooting.

According to the detective, he went to Howard University Hospital to speak to two of the victims after he had accessed the crime scene.

The detective affirmed the first victim did not want to cooperate with the investigation, stating he didn’t “even care if they found out who shot him.”

The second victim declared to the detective he saw four black males in a newer model Mazda CX-9.

After reviewing surveillance footage from homes in the area presented by the prosecution, the witness identified the alleged suspect vehicle as a silver or gray Kia Soul that was seen driving at a high velocity.

The prosecution has previously identified a 2016 Kia Soul as the alleged suspect vehicle for most of the shootings allegedly linked to the three co-defendants.

Jackson’s defense attorney, Brian McDaniel, had difficulty getting the witness to answer a question with straight “yes” or “no” answers during cross-examination.

Multiple jurors laughed when Judge Brandt asked McDaniel to “move on.”

The prosecutor objected after McDaniel rephrased many of his questions and the two exchanged words.

Judge Brandt then excused the witness and the jury, saying, “I’m tired of these little micro-aggressions” and left the courtroom..

Previously, the prosecution recalled an MPD investigator with extensive experience to explain slang used in text messages allegedly linked to the defendants. The texts were sent on Feb. 24, 2020, the day of one of the shootings.

The first thread was between the owner of the phone and a contact named “Fully.”

“Y’all be careful we just slide dawged 9th,” the witness said as he read out the message sent by the owner of the phone.

The witness affirmed that “slide” refers to participating in criminal activity.

According to court documents, the Feb. 24, 2020 shooting occurred on the 1600 block of 9th Street, NW.

A second message from the owner stated “Christ we caught em in traffic stunna.”

Fully eventually responded “wya,” an acronym commonly used for “where you at.”

The following message from the owner stated “Den [then] back to it I ain’t stopping this week till I make dat [that] page.”

In reference to “dat page,” the prosecution asked the witness if he had ever heard of a “Murder Mayhem” social media account which to which the message referred. The witness confirmed the account was a popular social media page that posted criminal activity in D.C.

The prosecution presented an Instagram story from a “murder_mayhem_dc” account. The image depicted a crime scene blocked off with text stating three men were wounded in a shooting in the Shaw neighborhood. The detective confirmed this was the crime scene location of the Feb. 24, 2020 shooting.

The next thread of text messages was a group chat involving multiple phone numbers. The only text messages presented were between the owner of the phone and two contacts listed as “Fully” and “Fully B.”

Fully starts the thread by sending a picture that depicts a police car blocking the entrance to 9th street, surrounded by crime scene tape.

“Call me mr getactive” the witness said as he read out the response sent by the owner of the phone. “Christ two of em got hit,” the owner added.

“Make it count den,” Fully B responded.

In cross-examination by Nelson’s defense attorney, Lisbeth Sapirstein, the witness affirmed a contact named “Boogie,” which previous witnesses have testified to be Nelson’s nickname, was not part of these text threads.

Proceedings will continue on May 2.

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