The jury heard closing arguments from the prosecution and the defense in a mass shooting trial in front of DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun on Oct. 29.
Juan Peterson, 34, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of accessory after the fact while armed, and second-degree cruelty to children.
The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a mass shooting on May 15, 2021, on the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE, that killed 28-year-old Lester Howard and injured three other individuals.
In their closing statement, prosecutors described what they said was a “perfect handoff,” during which Peterson allegedly gave the shooter the gun used to commit the mass shooting and then allowed the shooter to get into his car before he drove away.
Prosecutors played security footage depicting the shooter approaching the defendant’s car, reaching in, and walking off with a gun before committing the shooting. Prosecutors called the shooting “an execution in its purest form.”
Prosecutors then reviewed evidence they say links Peterson to the car depicted in the video, which Peterson testified was his car. They also reviewed evidence of cell site data that places Peterson at the scene of the crime at the time it occurred.
The prosecution also said that the smooth execution of the crime shows that the crime was premeditated, arguing the “circumstances prove the plan.” Prosecutors asked the jury to use their common sense even though they do not have text messages or emails showing the planning process.
“If it looks like a plan, drives like a plan, and shoots like a plan, it’s a plan,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutors also asked the jury to not believe Peterson’s testimony since he had previously lied to police when originally questioned about the incident and said he was only coming up with this story now because he knows the evidence against him.
Daniel Kovler, on behalf of Peterson, stated in closing arguments that while a lot of what the prosecution asserted was true, it “does not make Juan Peterson a murderer.”
Kovler told the jury there was no evidence of a plan between Peterson and the shooter, stating that in “50 thousand pages” of messages from Peterson’s phone there was “nothing about a plan.”
Kovler insisted that “any time there’s a preplanned something … there’s evidence of that.”
Regarding Peterson’s testimony, Kovler stated that Peterson “opened himself up” to the jury, claiming that “we don’t know what happened in the car,” we can’t know if Peterson drove away voluntarily. Peterson “believes this guy (the shooter) might just shoot him any moment now,” according to Kovler.
Kovler continued, affirming that Peterson believed the shooter was “not someone he expected to steal his gun” and that the shooter was an “impulsive kid, doing an impulsive thing.”
Kovler concluded the prosecution’s evidence requires the jury to make large assumptions. They “gave you a lot of assumptions … Mr. Peterson gave you everything.”
In the prosecutors’ rebuttal they said the defendant has testified to having multiple cell phones and they only extracted one, so evidence of a plan could be on any one of those other phones. They also said the video proves that Peterson handed the shooter the gun because the shooter did not bend down to the sedan to grab the gun from the passenger seat.
Parties will reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.
