Murder Defendant’s Attorney Says He Acted in Self-Defense During ‘Home Invasion’

By Adriana Marroquin - December 19, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Parties delivered closing arguments during a hearing on Dec. 18, before a jury in DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt’s courtroom. 

Amard Jefferson, 25, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict, carrying a pistol without a license outside his home or business, and obstruction of justice. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kendall Brown on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE, on Aug. 7, 2021.

“On Aug. 7, 2021, Amard Jefferson shot and killed Kendall Brown, after he involved himself in a disagreement between former roommates,” the prosecutor told the jury. 

According to the prosecution, the shooting stemmed from a disagreement between Jefferson’s then-girlfriend and three women, including Brown, who allegedly confronted Jefferson’s girlfriend at her home about her former roommate’s belongings. 

“It’s at that point that the defendant takes it to a whole new level,” the prosecutor insisted, arguing that the group of women were just attempting to grab their belongings when Jefferson reached for a gun. According to the prosecutor, one of the women questioned Jefferson about what he was attempting to do.

The prosecutor told the jury that following the shooting, the two women who had arrived with Brown left the apartment, thinking Brown was following them. However, they quickly realized she had been shot and was stuck inside the apartment, and the door was locked after they left. 

The prosecution added that there is no evidence to prove that there was a struggle over the gun between Jefferson and Brown. 

“It took seven minutes for [the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)] to break down the door, as the defendant left through the back door with his girlfriend and her son, cut through the neighborhood, and disposed of the gun in a drain pipe,” the prosecutor said. 

“You know that this is the gun that killed Kendall Brown, and the defendant is the one to pull the trigger” the prosecutor stated as she displayed the firearm recovered from the drain pipe. According to a DNA expert, Jefferson’s DNA was highly likely to be on the firearm.

“You don’t shoot someone unless you intend to kill them or seriously injure them,” the prosecutor insisted, adding Jefferson acted in conscious disregard for Brown’s life. “He left her inside to die alone.”

“There is no way that when the defendant shot the gun he was acting in self-defense, defense of a third party, or defense of property,” the prosecutor insisted, adding “mere words, no matter how offensive, are never adequate provocation.”

The prosecution also argued Jefferson attempted to get his then-girlfriend to take the fall for him, providing text messages and jail calls in which he gave her instructions on what to tell MPD in order for her to get arrested and he be released. 

Messages included “you need to go tell them people I didn’t do that s**t,” and “self-defense, that’s all I want you to say.” 

“He knew then what you know now – that he murdered Kendall Brown,” the prosecutor claimed. 

“Hold him accountable. Find him guilty,” she pleaded with the jury. 

“Could this have been an unintentional discharge of the weapon?” Jason Clark, Jefferson’s attorney, asked the jury. 

He reminded the jury their job is to determine whether the prosecution’s evidence ruled out all reasonable doubt, and stated that “a lack of evidence is a reason to doubt.” 

“Mr. Jefferson was at home minding his business,” Clark argued, stating that Brown and her companions were “invaders” in Jefferson’s home, and it was a “very heated and intense situation.”

“If [the women] went with good intentions they wouldn’t have had to agree to not do anything in front of her kids,” Clark insisted, showing the jury an interview clip in which one of Brown’s friends told MPD that they had agreed not to beat Jefferson’s girlfriend up if her kid was in the room. 

“If they saw a gun, why did they not leave? – that’s all they had to do,” Clark said, adding it is not unreasonable to arm yourself when someone forces themselves into your home. 

“They want you to think that Amard is a bad person,” Clark argued, stating “there was a home invasion, overpowered at the door, they fled the apartment,” regarding Jefferson and his girlfriend fleeing the scene and going to Maryland. 

“Every person’s got a right to defend their home, you have to find him not guilty,” Clark ended. 

Parties are slated to reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.