Jury Acquits Suspect Held in Non-Fatal Shooting Case

By Anthoine Godin - February 1, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Donnell Tucker was acquitted of all charges on Jan. 31, 2024. 

The jury delivered the not guilty verdict in connection to a non-fatal shooting trial before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Salerno.

Donnell Tucker, 27, was originally charged with conspiracy, first-degree burglary, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, aggravated assault while armed, assault with significant bodily injury, and threatening to injure or kidnap a person in connection to a non-fatal shooting on March 28, 2023, on the 3400 block of 13th Place, SE, which left one individual suffering from gunshot wounds. 

On Nov. 6, 2023, Tucker’s mother, Tiaquana Chandler, 42, was convicted of conspiracy in connection to the shooting but was acquitted of first-degree burglary, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, soliciting a violent crime, and additional possession of a firearm during a crime of violence charges. 

Tucker’s defense attorney, Marnitta King, consistently claimed there was no evidence of Tucker’s presence during the offense, and that the prosecution had “not made their case beyond a reasonable doubt”. 

After six days of trial and one day of deliberation, the 12-person jury delivered its verdict resulting in Tucker’s immediate release from D.C Jail where he’d been held since July of 2023. 

Prosecutors tried to prove Tucker’s guilt by presenting testimony from the victim as well as a police body camera video of him receiving aid. In the video, which was taken at the hospital shortly after the shooting, the victim can be heard identifying their assailant as, “Tiaquana and her lame ass son shoot me or some sh*t”. 

Prosecutors called on eight witnesses including and the victim in an attempt to prove Tucker’s guilt. 

Defense only called an official court investigator. 

A dramatic moment in court occurred when the only eyewitness to the crime claimed, “The man sitting next to the lawyer [Tucker] is not the shooter,” and that the real shooter had been in court the first day but left when he saw the eyewitness. 

In their closing statement, the prosecution said this was a crime of retaliation by Tucker for the treatment of his mother by the victim. Prosecution believed body camera footage, phone call recordings of Chandler from jail, birth records, video surveillance of the apartment, and eyewitness testimony all confirmed Tucker’s charges. 

Defense claimed “the only thing the government has is the lineage” in reference to Tucker’s birth records. King held that the eyewitness as well as the victim’s descriptions of the shooter fail to match Tucker. 

King urged the jury to “look at what evidence they[the prosecution] didn’t present,” reminding the jury that the burden of proof had not been met by the prosecution.

Following the verdict, Tucker’s case was dismissed.