‘My Eyes Were Closed the Whole Time,’ Eyewitness Says in Murder Trial

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An eyewitness testified she heard gunshots and closed her eyes in a homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on March 24.

Deonte Patterson, 29, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and obstructing justice by influencing or delaying of a witness or officer for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Ali Jamil Al-Mahdi on Aug. 23, 2021, on the 1800 block of 9th Street NW.

The prosecution called an eyewitness, Patterson’s on-and-off girlfriend since 2018, who testified that she went to Mirrors, a night club on the U Street Corridor, with Patterson the night of the incident. She worked as a bartender at Mirrors, and explained that security did not pat-down her or Patterson before they entered the club that night.

The witness identified herself, Patterson, and another male in videos inside Mirrors and leaving the club together.

The witness explained that after leaving the club she observed Al-Mahdi outside with a group of people on the sidewalk. She said he followed them as they walked from the club to Patterson’s white Mercedes. When near the Mercedes, she said Patterson loudly told her to get in the car multiple times before she entered the front passenger seat.

She said she did not observe Patterson holding a gun, but was not focused on his hands.

After the witness entered the car, she said heard gunshots. “My eyes were closed the whole time,” she said.

The witness said she did not see who fired the shots, explaining she was afraid because she recalled a previous interaction between Al-Mahdi and Patterson.

According to the witness, she knew of Al-Mahdi and was present when he previously shot Patterson. She also was aware of rumors that she had a romantic interaction with Al-Mahdi, which Patterson asked her about and she denied.

Prosecutors played phone calls between Patterson and the witness in which the defendant says “you don’t gotta say sh*t” and tells the witness the prosecutors are trying to trick her. She also testified that Patterson told her to say she did not know anything during her Grand Jury testimony.

The prosecution called another eyewitness, Patterson’s close friend since high school, who testified that he worked as a security guard at Mirrors. On the night of the incident, the witness explained he left with Patterson and his girlfriend because Patterson was going to drive the witness home. The witness testified that “People started shooting at us” once they were in the car.

The prosecution asked if the witness was distracted that night, and he confirmed that his focus was on the mother of his child who was expected to give birth that day.

Prosecutors also called a Lyft driver, who testified that the night of the incident his car was stopped at the intersection of T and 9th Street, NW where he witnessed a male and a female walking towards a white sedan.

The witness described the male as tall, with dreads, a light-complexion, dressed in all black, and a “slender build” and the female as short compared to the male. The witness added that the male had a semiautomatic compact firearm along the side of his body while he walked with a “casual” demeanor. He said he heard the male tell the female to “get into the car.”

The witness continued, “If I see a gun out of place that becomes my focus” to explain why he kept driving. The Lyft driver said he heard gunshots, pulled his car over, heard screeching of tires, and observed a white sedan followed closely by a tan or brown SUV speeding past him. The witness added that he also heard a woman screaming loudly and crying.

A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective said he searched for Patterson for almost a year after the arrest warrant was issued. The detective arrested Patterson at an address in Prince George County, Md.

The trial is scheduled to resume on March 25.