Jury Not Sure if Murder Defendant Killed Teen

By D.C. Witness Staff - May 7, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

After nearly two weeks of deliberation, a jury notified the court May 7 that jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous decision on whether or not a murder defendant was guilty of killing a teenager and then another person to cover it up.

Devaun Drayton

Carlton Fisher

Terik McLeod is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed for shooting 17-year-old Devaun Drayton and 23-year-old Carlton Fisher in 2004 and 2006, respectively. According to DC Courts, McLeod, 33, was arrested in April of 2017. 

McLeod is scheduled for a status hearing on May 17, when counsel is expected to discuss how the case will proceed.

Throughout the nearly three week trial, the prosecution sought to prove that McLeod shot Drayton over a stolen gun. The prosecution said Drayton was shot once in the back of the head in the parking lot of Phelps A.C.E. High School, located on the 700 block of 26th Street, NE. The prosecutors said McLeod later killed Fisher because he believed Fisher “snitched” to police about Drayton’s murder.

A witness, who was serving a sentence for an unrelated murder, previously testified that McLeod’s cousin “set [Drayton] up” to be killed by McLeod because of the stolen gun. However, during his testimony, the witness denied the statements, saying that he made them up so he would be released.

A friend of McLeod testified that he saw McLeod in possession of a .357 revolver, which prosecutors believe is the murder weapon in Fisher’s murder. A firearms expert testified that, at the scene of Fisher’s murder, there were no recovered shell casings, suggesting that a revolver had been used. The bullets recovered from Fisher’s body could have been fired from a .357 revolver, but the expert could not say for certain based off of the bullet markings.

The prosecution called a witness who testified that he was with McLeod, Drayton and two other individuals on the morning of the murder. The witness said he heard the gunshot and then saw McLeod holding a gun and Drayton on the ground.

The witness said someone was supposed to sell a gun to McLeod, however, the transaction was never completed because Drayton “lied about losing it.” The witness also said McLeod told him that he “put [Fisher’s] brains all over the mailbox.”

The prosecution said McLeod shot Fisher seven times after Fisher told police about Drayton’s murder. Apparently, Fisher was shot in front of his apartment building on the 1100 block of 21st Street, NE.

The defense, however, said McLeod did not commit either murder. The defense’s case was built on the testimony of another witness, who took responsibility for shooting Drayton in 2004. The defense said the witness is currently serving time for an unrelated murder charge and was given immunity in exchange for his testimony.

According to the witness, he and Drayton had a “misunderstanding” over a stolen gun. Apparently, on the day of the murder, the witness said he and Drayton got food at a local golf course and then walked to school, where he ultimately shot Drayton.

During closing arguments, the defense said a “warm sandwich” found under the victim’s body corroborates that the witness killed Drayton. The defense said the sandwich was from the golf course.

The defense said that if McLeod didn’t kill Drayton, then the theory that he killed Fisher for “snitching” doesn’t make sense. They also said there was no DNA evidence linking McLeod to either murder.

Olivia Osborne and Rebekah Herman contributed to this article.