Desperation stood out as a key aspect in both the prosecution and defense’s closing arguments during a 2014 murder trial.

On April 3, three weeks after the trial started, the jury began to deliberate on evidence provided in the alleged shooting of Willard Carlos Shelton on Aug. 31, 2014, on the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road, SE.

According to the prosecution, Tyrone “Michael” Height and James Young were desperate because they got caught by several eyewitnesses and a GPS tracking device.

The prosecution said that not only were there witnesses who saw and identified both men shooting Shelton, 38, but there was also recorded conversations of Young, 25, threatening the life of one of those witnesses. In addition, a GPS monitoring device put Height, 25, at the scene of the murder; Height was seen with a .40 caliber gun — the murder weapon — a day after he murder; and a letter from Young to a judge stated the motive — burglary.

The prosecution also told the jury that Young’s confession of being in a shooting spat with Shelton didn’t make sense because the Metropolitan Police Department only found two revolver shell casings. Police did not find any ballistics evidence from the revolver on the scene, but they found 13 casings from the .40 caliber gun.

The prosecution said that Young’s actions weren’t indicative of being attacked, but of robbing Shelton. The prosecution told the jury to discredit Young’s testimony, pointing suspicion at Young’s statement of retrieving the revolver from Shelton’s pocket after the two were shooting at each other.

The defense argued against the prosecution’s assertion of desperation from guilt by saying the prosecution was desperate in trying to place guilt on the defendants. The defense said the evidence presented during the trial does not show, without reasonable doubt, that Young or Height maliciously killed Shelton.

According to the defense, the prosecution was desperate enough to present witnesses who admitted to initially lying about the shooting; insinuate Height told a fellow inmate to lie, even though there was no proof; rely on testimony from a person who, at the time of the incident, was under the influence of a narcotic and testimony from a person with a questionable mental state; and provide evidence that was inconsistent with the testimonies.

The prosecution asks “why is the defense so desperate? But, why is the government so desperate,” Young’s attorney Joseph Caleb said.

At the center of the shooting was PCP, a drug used as a veterinary anesthetic that has hallucinogenic components. According to counsel, both Shelton and Young used and sold the product.

An expert witness told the jury that users could experience fits of range or become lethargic while under the influence of PCP.

Young said Shelton was a violent man and attacked him. He said he shot Shelton in self defense. Young’s testimony of Shelton’s demeanor was corroborated by Shelton’s friend who said the decedent tased him for no reason the day before.

Both men are being charged with first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, robbery while armed, burglary while armed, tampering with evidence, unlawful possession of a firearm, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

On March 29, nine days after a 2014 murder trial began, one of the defendants said he shot Willard Carlos Shelton in self defense.

James Young and Tyrone Height are charged with the alleged shooting death of Shelton on Aug. 31, 2014, in the parking lot of an apartment complex on the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road, SE. Young, 25, and Height, 25, are charged with first-degree murder among other charges.

“The truth is I did it,” Young said. “Back in 2014, I didn’t want that to get out at all.” He said he didn’t initially claim self defense because he did not know it was legal in Washington, D.C.

Young admitted to lying to the Metropolitan Police Department, a judge who previously presided over the case and the prosecution.

“Me knowing that a life was taken and I was responsible…I wasn’t trying to tell the truth,” he said. Young told the jury that he decided March 29 that it was time to finally tell the truth.

However, the prosecution insisted that Young waited so long to claim self defense because he did not shoot Shelton to defend himself, suggesting that Young’s statements to the jury were also lies. The prosecution is charging Young and Height with robbery and burglary while armed.

So, what happened?

According to Young, he owed Shelton $150 for a shotgun. On the morning of the homicide, Shelton came to collect, but Young said he didn’t have the money. He offered to give Shelton $150 worth of PCP, a drug Shelton was known for using, but he said Shelton grabbed him and wielded a .22 caliber revolver before he could get the drugs.

Young said he pistol whipped Shelton with a gun he was carrying and ran off. He said the two shot at one another while he was running through the parking lot. Young said one of his bullets struck Shelton.

Young said he ran into a woman’s apartment. According to Young, the two had a close relationship and he considered her as his grandmother. They are not related.

However, the woman testified that she had never seen Young before that day. Young told the jury that the woman lied on the stand because she testified to knowing a person named Dink, which, Young said, was one of his nicknames.

When Young left the woman’s apartment, he said he saw Shelton lying on the ground. Young told the jury Shelton was still alive when he took his gun, keys and wallet.

A DNA expert testified March 28 that the revolver contained DNA from at least two people with at least one of those people being male. However, the expert said there was not an efficient amount of DNA on the revolver to determine who held the gun.

Trial nears end

Height decided to not testify.

The trial is expected to continue on April 2 with the prosecution presenting more evidence and closing arguments.

After seven days of arguments from the prosecution, the outcome of continuing a murder trial became uncertain when a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department incriminated the defendants during his testimony about an eyewitness.

James Young and Tyrone Height have been charged with first-degree murder while armed, felony murder while armed and other charges, including obstruction of justice, in the shooting death of Willard Carlos Shelton, 38, on Aug. 31, 2014. The homicide occurred on the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road, SE. Young, 24, and Height, 25, were apprehended on Sept. 3, 2014.

The officer testified March 27 to why an eyewitness in the case ended up staying in temporary housing, supplied by the MPD, for an extended period of time.

“We learned about a possible threat on [the witnesses] life,” the officer told the jury in response to the prosecution’s question.

Defense attorneys Joseph Caleb, Height’s lawyer, and Ferris Bond, Young’s lawyer, objected to the statement because they said they believed it unfairly accused their clients of the same behavior the young men were already on trial for.

As a plausible solution, Judge Milton Lee gave the prosecution and the defense an opportunity to write a cautionary instruction for the jury so they would not acknowledge the statement.

However, the defense stressed that an instruction could not remedy the situation. The defense requested that Judge Lee order a mistrial because the statement placed bias on the jury to favor a guilty verdict.

Judge Lee said he will decide if he will give the jury a cautionary instruction or call a mistrial on March 28.

On March 28, Judge Lee ruled that the trial would continue. He also ruled that special instruction on the detective’s testimony would not be given to the jury per the defense’s request.