Murder Trial Resumes with Prosecutors calling Witnesses to Testify

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A homicide trial continued on July 11 with the prosecution calling five witnesses to the stand. 

Torey Stockton, 24, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged role in a drive-by shooting that killed 23-year-old Jasmine Light and injured three other people on Jan. 17, 2018, on the 1500 block of U Street, SE. 

In addition to first-degree murder, Stockton is also charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of obstruction of justice. His co-defendant, Kayla Thompson, is also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly helping Stockton remove evidence. 

The prosecution called an expert in forensic acoustic analysis, who works for Shot Spotter, a company that builds and operates microphones that locates and records gunshots.

According to the expert, the system picked up the sound of 14 gunshots at 11:07 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2018. Upon analysis, the expert ruled the location of the shots to be at the intersection of U street and 16th street, SE.

According to the expert, the gunshots occurred within around 3.8 seconds, with none of the shots occurring at the same time.

The prosecution then called an expert in firearms, ballistics, and toolmark examination who analyzed 15 casings and 8 bullet fragments.

“In my opinion, they [the cartridge casings] were all fired by the same firearm,” the firearm expert said.

The expert also ruled that three of the fragments were fired by the same firearm, but the rest were too damaged for him to make definitive conclusions. 

A forensic crime scene analyst for the Department of Forensic Science (DFS) testified to photographing injuries and collecting clothing from the three hospitals where victims were located.

The prosecution showed photographs of the injuries and asked the witness if all the injuries were consistent with bullet wounds.

She said yes.

The prosecution called a custodian of records for Facebook and Instagram to the stand to verify the accounts of Stockton. The prosecution then showed multiple photos, videos, and messages Stockton sent on instagram, including him waving around guns. 

DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo scheduled the trial to resume on July 12.

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