DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt ruled on May 18 that neither party could reference a hug between a homicide victim and a club manager as a potential motive for murder in trial.
Cotey Wynn, 45, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Blake Bozeman and injuries to three other victims at the CRU Lounge, on the 1300 block of H Street, on Sept. 23, 2023. Bozeman sustained one gunshot wound to the chest and one to the abdomen.
Before the jury arrived, defense attorney Brian McDaniel said the prosecution’s theory that Wynn’s motive for murder was a hug between Bozeman and the female manager of CRU Lounge was unsupported. McDaniel contended that neither Wynn nor Bozeman had a romantic relationship with the club manager, and that Wynn had no motive or intent to harm anyone at the club.
The prosecution countered that the argument was not relevant to the jury, as they don’t have a burden to prove motive. Judge Brandt agreed the issue should not reach the jury, stating that no one could use the hug in any arguments, clarifying she was not precluding testimony, just placing “guardrails” on it.
After the jury arrived, the prosecution called the head of security at CRU Lounge on the night of the shooting, who testified that he supervised three guards, checked in with servers and bartenders, but did not personally conduct pat downs.
The witness told jurors that Wynn was a regular at the club who some people called the “king of H Street.” His role was to bring good business and favors in exchange for bypassing lines. The witness testified that he was familiar with prior incidents involving Wynn, including one that began inside the club and ended outside.
McDaniel objected to portions of the head of security’s testimony about prior incidents, arguing it was inadmissible hearsay, since the witness had not directly seen any of the incidents occur, only heard about them.
The prosecution argued the defense had opened the door through its cross-examination of the club manager and another security guard, who each testified that Wynn could bypass security and pat downs as a privileged regular.
The prosecution contended this left the misleading impression that Wynn’s special treatment at the club was innocuous, and that testimony about prior incidents involving Wynn was necessary to provide context for why he received that treatment and how it bore on the night of the shooting.
Judge Brandt agreed to permit limited testimony, but ordered that the prosecution stop short of eliciting testimony about a prior incident in which a man was kicked out of the club and returned with a gun.
In McDaniel’s cross-examination, the head of security acknowledged that he had no idea how a gun got into the club the night of the shooting and that there was no evidence Wynn assisted in getting a gun inside.
The witness also confirmed that a tent outside the club obscured video of pat downs, that standards for pat downs varied among guards, and that a back employee entrance had no guard stationed on the day of the incident. He further testified that he observed no prolonged stares between Wynn and Bozeman and saw no bad interaction between the two.
The defense then called the case’s lead Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) homicide detective who testified that he initially believed an SUV captured on video was a getaway vehicle Wynn had brought for the shooter. The detective acknowledged that he was originally mistaken, and the video showed the shooter arriving separately in a black SUV, with no involvement from Wynn in either vehicle. The detective also testified that the shooter reached the vehicle 16 seconds before Wynn crossed in front of him.
Judge Brandt also addressed a defense motion to dismiss the case filed the previous night, which cited the late disclosure of body-worn camera footage not produced until January and the deportation of a witness in the trial: a bouncer working at CRU Lounge the night of the shooting.
The judge declined to grant the dismissal but indicated she wanted to take some action in response, but that would be determined during later proceedings.
The trial is set to resume on May 19.
