Judge Limits Victim’s Testimony In Shooting Trial

By Elizabeth Bernstein - October 1, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects |

DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt limited the scope of a non-fatal shooting victim’s testimony on Sept. 30 due to late disclosures by the prosecution and instructed that the jury consider the impact of the delays.

Jamal Coleman, 32, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed and aggravated assault knowingly while armed for his alleged involvement in a shooting that injured one victim. The incident occurred on May 4, 2023, on the 4600 block of Polk Street, NE.

The late disclosures concerned the victim’s making contradictory statements about the incident during meetings with the prosecution. Judge Brandt ruled that only information about the day of the incident is admissible despite history between the victim and Coleman. 

It was noted during trial, but not in presence of the jury, that Coleman and the victim have had previous physical altercations and shared mutual animosity.  

During the victim’s testimony, he stated he knew Coleman as his neighbor that lived below him for two or three years. 

When asked if he disliked Coleman, the victim stated, “I don’t care about him.” There were multiple times during his testimony where the victim began talking about his past with Coleman in greater depth but was stopped due to objections based on Judge Brandt’s ruling.

The victim provided details about the incident and described seeing Coleman that day with a man he recognized as one of Coleman’s friends that was a frequent visitor.

He described him as “some fat dark skinned n*****.” He was often referred to as “the big guy” during trial.

The victim stated that Coleman and the big guy were sitting in Coleman’s car with the doors open when he left his apartment that day. He heard the two men say, “we’re gonna light his a** up,” but continued with his plans to walk to a Metro station because he was picking up his kids.

Shortly after, the victim stated, he noticed Coleman in the driver’s seat and the big guy in the passenger seat. 

The victim said the car tried to cut him off when he was approaching the street where the Metro station is located and then stopped parallel to him. He said the window was rolled down and the big guy made threats towards him.

The victim said he and the big guy engaged in a “back and forth,” and then the big guy allegedly pulled out a gun. 

At this point, the victim recalled fearing for his safety and hearing about five gunshots before running into the Metro station for help.

The victim’s hand was shot during the incident. “I can’t operate my left hand like I used to,” he told the jury. He explained that he was a trained “sous chef,” so the injury impairs his work.

The defense questioned the victim’s vague statements when first talking about the incident to police immediately after it occurred. According to the defense, the victim told police at the hospital that he didn’t know who shot him and that he didn’t have problems with anyone.

The victim responded by stating, “I was on medication and in a lot of pain” and unable to tell the full story at the time.

The victim stated that he identified the suspect car as a black Chevy Impala at the hospital and that he knew Coleman drove a similar vehicle. He also clarified that he recognized both Coleman and his friend but that he didn’t specifically know the friend’s name who was the alleged shooter.

The victim stated that he did not see Coleman with a firearm on the day of the incident and did not see Coleman fire at him.

Trial will resume on Oct 1.