During openings, a murder defendant’s attorney claimed that the victim and her friends were “three home invaders [who] began to assault and terrorize” the defendant and his girlfriend in a Dec. 3 trial before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt.
Amard Jefferson, 33, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, and obstruction of justice in connection to the Aug. 7 2021 fatal shooting of Kendall Brown, 20, on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE.
“Kendall Brown’s life matters,” prosecutors stated at the outset of their opening statement. Prosecutors continued by identifying each of the five individuals in the apartment the night Brown was killed and asserted that the four women were growing apart, but “a friendship breaking down … is not justification for someone to lose their life.”
The prosecution detailed a narrative that Brown and two of her friends arrived at the Nelson Place apartment to retrieve a bottle of tequila. The situation escalated when the home-owner, a former friend of Brown’s, claimed not to have it. Brown and her friends forced their way inside and began searching the apartment, which is when Jefferson, identified as the homeowner’s boyfriend, allegedly went to retrieve his gun and fired, shooting Brown, “an unarmed woman.”
Prosecutors then alleged Brown’s friends left the apartment in fear, providing time for Jefferson, his girlfriend and her son to lock the door to the apartment and escape through the back of the building. When police arrived, it took seven minutes to break the door down and provide first aid to Brown, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutors continued by identifying key pieces of evidence. First, Jefferson’s DNA was nearly 100 percent confirmed to be on the gun stashed in a drainage pipe only a few blocks from the crime scene. Second, the ballistics from the same gun and casing found in the apartment were consistent. Third, Jefferson’s girlfriend’s phone could be identified at the crime scene at the time of the incident, followed through Jefferson’s apartment, and lastly, “holed up in another jurisdiction,” where Jefferson was arrested.
Prosecutors concluded by referencing text messages between Jefferson and his girlfriend from while he was in jail, asserting that “he tried to get [her] to take the fall for him,” sending messages like “tell em it wasn’t my mistle” and “im tryna talk in code.”
Michelle Stevens, Jefferson’s attorney argued “sometimes the [prosecution] gets things wrong.” Stevens told a different version of the events, alleging that the incident was a “planned robbery and assault” from Brown and her friends.
Stevens cited a video one of Brown’s friends took at the beginning of the altercation, claiming the fact that someone was recording was an indicator the women were prepared for violence, and referencing how Brown and her friends “force their way into the apartment,” by blocking the door.
“Three home invaders began to assault and terrorize,” the defendant and his girlfriend, Stevens claimed, continuing by stating that “these women meant him [Jefferson] harm.”
Stevens bolstered this idea by referencing Instagram messages one of Brown’s friends had sent Jefferson’s girlfriend only days before the incident. They read “ANSWER BI*CH” followed by “Imma smack every single one of your disabled kids.”
The trial continued with testimony from Brown’s sister who asserted Brown “wanted everyone to just get along” and “loved animals and anything living.” Brown’s sister admitted on cross that Brown would sometimes be asked to leave the house by their mother, but that the relationship was typical of three women living together.
Two Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers also testified, one added context to the body-worn camera footage of the seven minutes it takes officers to break down the apartment door and the other testified that a civilian flagged the officer down and pointed to where he had seen someone stash a firearm.
The trial is set to continue Dec. 4
