Judge Schedules Defendants Charged in Deadly Drive-By Shooting for Trial

By Jakob Rios [former] , Andy Tripathi [former] - April 19, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge scheduled a trial for three co-defendants charged in connection with a deadly drive-by shooting.  

The three, 18-year-old Nelfy Hernandez, 20-year-old DeAndre Levy and 18-year-old Trey Prillerman, are accused of firing into a group of teenagers on the 5500 block of 9th Street, NW, on Aug. 10, 2020. Taijhon Wyatt, 17, was killed in the shooting. During the most recent hearing for this case on April 18, the co-defendants were scheduled for trial.

Levy’s attorneys, Jonathan Zucker and Thomas Healy, are seeking their client’s release from DC Jail pending trial on the allegation that one of the witnesses lied about the case. This witness ties the three defendants to the scene of the shooting and is also currently held at DC Jail on unrelated criminal charges. The prosecutor said they are hoping this witness will agree to testify at the upcoming trial.

Douglas Wood, Hernandez’s attorney, said the “witness lied” during the proceedings. He requested Hernandez’s release from DC Jail on a similar basis. He argued it is unlikely this witness will agree to testify, and if he does, “he is going to lie.”

Hernandez is currently on course to complete his high school diploma. He has also completed several certificates and “is not wasting his time at the Department of Corrections,” Wood said.

The defendant has cut off his GPS monitor in the past, but Woods retorted that he did not flee his home after he did so. The prosecutor said he still has other extraditable charges in Maryland. They also said they have since recovered DNA from the car allegedly used in the drive-by shooting that matches Prillerman and Hernandez.

Judge Maribeth Raffinan decided to continue the detention of all three defendants, who were visibly agitated by the ruling. 

The trial is scheduled to take place in June 2023.