Jury chosen for 2015 murder trial

By D.C. Witness Staff - February 7, 2018
Court | Homicides | Suspects |

Davon Peyton, who was charged with second-degree murder while armed, will face a jury of 11 women and three men.

Peyton, 27, is on trial for allegedly killing 21-year-old Ray Andre Harrison. The trial began on Feb. 5.

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Fischer said Peyton shot Harrison in a fit of rage.

Fischer said Harrison and his girlfriend, along with his girlfriend’s friend, drove to Peyton’s house, where he lived with his girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter, in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2015.

Fischer said the incident happened when Harrison knocked on Peyton’s window and door, provoking him to go outside with a handgun. From there, a verbal altercation turned physical and Harrison punched Peyton.

Peyton allegedly shot Harrison in the chest and fled the scene, Fischer said. She said police located and arrested Peyton one week later on Nov. 21, 2015, at another girlfriend’s house. Police also found the handgun stashed under a pile of clothes in a closet in the house.

Fischer said the prosecution would call eyewitnesses along with a crime scene analyst, DNA analyst, and a firearms examiner. She said the evidence would prove Peyton’s guilt to the jury.

Peyton’s attorney, Joseph Wong, told a different story.

According to Wong, Peyton didn’t try to kill or hurt Harrison. Wong said Peyton was jolted awake by banging on his window in the middle of the night and grabbed his gun for protection.

According to Wong, Harrison began assaulting Peyton at his doorstep. Wong said that as the physical altercation unfolded, Peyton’s gun went off accidentally.

“This was not a murder,” Wong told the jury. “This was a tragic accident.”

Wong said the defense would call a DNA expert and a toxicology expert to prove that Harrison was intoxicated on the night of his death.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Feb. 7.