Judge Says Victim’s ID of Defendant is ‘Accurate’ to Present at Trial  

By Payton Anderson - March 27, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On March 27, DC Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld denied a defense motion to suppress the victim’s identification of the defendant and restrict its presentation during trial. 

Diandre Caesar, 29, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting incident that occurred on June 28, 2022, on the 2200 block of New York Avenue, NE. No injuries were reported.

In response to the defense’s motion, the prosecution called the lead detective to testify. She presented the Dashcam footage from the victim’s car, which confirmed the events described in court documents. 

The footage showed the victim driving with his girlfriend and child, only to stop when a milk crate was in his way. The victim is seen exiting the vehicle to throw the crate over the fence that is next to his car. The suspect is then seen throwing the crate back over the fence once the victim begins driving once more, resulting in a fight that quickly escalates to the suspect shooting at the vehicle.

When shown the defendant’s picture, the victim gave an “enthusiastic” identification, according to the detective. 

Caesar’s defense attorney, Adrien Madsen, argued that the interaction between the suspect and the victim was too short for the victim to confidently and reliably assert that the suspect was Caesar. 

“The interaction was no more than three minutes total,” Madsen said. “The victim was looking away from the suspect for a portion of that interaction, and that period of time was close to a minute.” 

The prosecution countered the interaction was a “heated face-to-face conversation for two minutes” and the victim had “many opportunities to see the defendant.” The prosecutor then asked the detective to describe why she chose to use a single picture rather than a photo gallery. 

“The complainant watched the video [Dashcam footage] several times,” the detective said. “So I used one picture because of the many times he saw the video.”  

Madsen also said the vague description of the suspect provided by the witness indicates it was unreliable.

“He described the suspect as a ‘Black male with dreads’,” Madsen said. “No description of complexion, no description of age, no description of weight.”

Judge Hertzfeld concluded that, although the description provided by the victim was “general,” it was still accurate. She also said the victim was paying attention to the suspect during the entire interaction. 

“I think it was clear that the complainant’s attention was on Caesar and that makes this a reliable identification,” the judge said.

Based on her findings, Judge Hertzfeld denied the defense’s motion to suppress identification.    

Parties are slated to return on March 28.