Parties delivered opening statements, and witnesses testified in a contentious homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt on Aug. 27.
Ky’lee Palmer, 25, and Aaron Adgerson, 21, are charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. In addition, Palmer is charged with destruction of property worth $1000 or more and tampering with physical evidence. All are alleged to be offenses committed during release. The charges stem from Palmer’s and Adgerson’s alleged involvement in a drive-by shooting that led to the death of 60-year-old Barron Goodwin on Feb. 12, 2020, inside a residence on the 800 block of 51st Street, SE.
In their opening statements, prosecutors argued “a bullet sliced through [a] window, pierced through [Goodwin’s] cap, and lodged in his skull,” killing him quickly. According to the prosecution, Goodwin, who is said to have been gay, was diagnosed with dementia, and moved in with his late-husband’s family following his death due to illness in 2019.
“These two men killed Barron in a drive-by shooting in broad daylight,” the prosecutor insisted, pointing at Palmer and Adgerson. The motive, the prosecutor argued, grew from a stolen cellphone that Palmer allegedly took from his then-girlfriend, Goodwin’s niece.
According to the prosecution, Palmer and Adgerson committed the murder in a stolen black Nissan Altima, which they allege was taken by Palmer. They added that an individual standing on a street corner where the crime occurred identified Palmer and Adgerson as the individuals in the car, stating he knew them from growing up in the same area.
Prosecutors argued that after the shooting, Palmer drove Adgerson to his house in northeast DC, before driving back to his other girlfriend’s house and setting the black Nissan on fire.
Months later, the prosecutor said, Palmer confessed to his pregnant girlfriend that “he shot an old man.”
“The evidence will show you these two men are responsible for killing Barron,” the prosecutor ended.
However, Sweta Patel, Palmer’s defense attorney, insisted that Palmer and Adgerson had nothing to do with the “tragic loss of an individual.”
“The [prosecution] wants you to convict Palmer on purely circumstantial evidence,” Patel insisted, adding that it will not show his involvement.
Patel argued Palmer’s then-pregnant girlfriend did not tell police about his alleged confession until two years after the actual incident, and the identification of Palmer and Adgerson by another witness only happened after he was arrested for an unrelated matter and “he had something to gain.”
“The [prosecution] wants you to convict this case on a smear campaign against Palmer,” Patel ended.
Likewise, Stephen LoGerfo, Adgerson’s attorney, emotionally proclaimed, “He did not shoot Barron Goodwin, and was not in the car that shot Barron Goodwin.”
He requested the jury disregard the prosecutors’ “conspiracy theory against Adgerson,” and the “unsteady foundation,” of their case.
Following opening statements, prosecutors called on Goodwin’s sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who testified their family took Goodwin in and provided care for him as he declined after being diagnosed with dementia.
The sister-in-law deemed Goodwin an individual with “a beautiful personality,” adding that he was easy to get along with. Given the loss of her brother in addition to her brother-in-law, she testified that “it was devastating… it happened one after the other.”
The witness argued she and her husband moved their family out of the jurisdiction shortly after Goodwin’s murder due to safety concerns.
Patel and LoGerfo questioned whether she was at home when the shooting happened. She testified she was at work, and did not see who shot Goodwin.
Although the wife wasn’t home, the husband testified he was, and explained that he “held Barron’s hand,” after he found him lying on the living room floor. He told the jury that when he first found Goodwin, he was still alive. He deemed Goodwin a “happy go-lucky,” individual.
Prosecutors also called on Palmer’s ex-girlfriend, and Goodwin’s niece, who testified about their “sometimes romantic” relationship. During her testimony, the witness attempted to conceal herself from Palmer by hiding behind the judge’s bench.
According to the witness, by February of 2020, she and Palmer had been in a relationship for one-to-two years, and he had met her family a few times.
The witness testified about the multiple injuries she endured during her relationship with Palmer, which included a broken lip and a black eye. She also testified that during an incident, Palmer pushed her over the railing in her front porch before macing her.
The day before Goodwin’s murder, the witness testified, she and Palmer got into an argument while they were out on a date, during which he forcefully took her phone. According to the witness, she had to walk home that night, and told her cousin to reach out to her and Palmer’s phones to try to get it back.
She testified she didn’t recall what the argument was about, but said that was around the time she found out Palmer had another girlfriend, who prosecutors claimed was three-months pregnant at the time with Palmer’s child.
According to the witness, she used an extra phone the family kept in the house to log into Instagram and send Palmer’s pregnant girlfriend a message, in which she asked, “Can you tell Kylee bring me my phone?”
The witness testified on the day Goodwin was murdered, she was home and heard four-to-five gunshots before she was alerted by her cousin who lived with them that Goodwin had been shot. She testified she didn’t remember who called 911, but officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) eventually showed up.
The witness told David Akulian, Palmer’s other defense attorney, that she hadn’t seen who shot Goodwin. As for the alleged domestic violence incidents that the prosecution provided evidence for, the witness testified she “never had him locked up” or pressed charges against him.
Parties are slated to reconvene Aug. 28.
