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A key witness in a murder retrial undercuts her own previous testimony

As the prosecution questioned the ex-girlfriend of Derryck Decuir, who is currently being retried for allegedly fatally shooting 15-year-old Malek Mercer on the night of June 15, 2015, she changed her responses from the testimony she gave at the first trial.

The ex-girlfriend,was called to decode phrases such as “jerseys” for guns and “toenail shells” for bullets, that Decuir used in text messages. Prosecutors say Decuir used those phrases in an effort to get a third person to remove illegal guns, possibly including the murder weapon, from Decuir’s stepmother’s home.

When asked about her change in testimony, the ex-girlfriend admitted that she was only testifying because the prosecution subpoenaed her. She was also overheard telling Decuir, the father of her daughter, that that she was still in love with him. The girlfriend also blew kisses to Decuir while she was on the stand.

In addition to Decuir’s ex-girlfriend, the prosecution called Waverly Schuler, the person who received the coded messages and was both Decuir’s friend and neighbor.

Schuler told the jury that he moved the guns from Decuir’s stepmother’s house and put them in the woods in front of Decuir’s house. Schuler is currently serving a 30-month sentence in D.C. Jail for an unrelated assault with a deadly weapon conviction. He was also convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice in the Mercer homicide, but has yet to be sentenced. He said he agreed to testify before the jury to hopefully get a lighter sentence from the judge for that charge.

The prosecution also called a woman who was among those with Mercer the night he was killed. The defense has claimed that Decuir shot Mercer in self-defense because Mercer had a shotgun. This witness recalled seeing Mercer put a shotgun with duct tape around it in a duffle bag. She is the only person, of six people to remember seeing Mercer with a shotgun.

2017 murder case will not have DNA testing

Both the defense and prosecution decided March 2 that DNA testing was not needed for a murder case.

Herman Lee Cook was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed for alledgedly fatally shooting 45-year-old Donald Stephen Johnson Jr. on Feb. 21, 2017.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, officers found Johnson on the 5700 block of Georgia Ave., NW suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Cook, 46, is currently being held without bail. A trial readiness hearing is scheduled on Oct. 12.

Murder suspect’s DNA found inside vehicle used in shooting

A DNA analyst confirmed the presence of Dominique Williams‘ DNA on a styrofoam cup inside a vehicle involved in a drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of Marcellus Green.

The defense previously argued that Williams’ DNA was placed on the cup. However, according to the expert witness, the DNA taken from the cup was double the amount compared to DNA taken from the car’s driving controls or airbags. Williams, 24, managed to get away from the police after a car chase even though the car crashed.

Williams allegedly shot and killed Green, 39, on the 3200 block of 28th Street, SE on Sept. 19, 2015. He is charged with first-degree murder while armed. The two other men involved with the shooting are Maricco Knight, 22, who is charged with accessory after the fact to an assault with the intent to kill and accessory after the fact to murder, and Steven Pugh, 22, who took a plea deal for the homicide.

Judge Judith Bartnoff said she expects the trial to wrap up early next week. The trial began arguments on Feb. 13. The defense is not expected to call any witnesses.

Counsel argues if Marcus Manor’s death was premeditated

The prosecution in a 2015 murder trial suggested that Kevin Chase planned on killing 38-year-old Marcus Manor.

On March 1, the prosecution cross-examined Chase, 30, showing text messages between the defendant and his mother about a month before he fatally shot Manor on on the 2900 block of Sherman Avenue, NW on Oct. 20, 2015. Chase’s mother sent texts to Chase asking if she should buy a new lock for his sister, who was allegedly in a rocky romantic relationship with Manor. “Want me to shoot him?” Chase replied.

According to Chase’s sister, Manor threatened her and her children and stole her son’s house key before she kicked him out of her apartment on Oct. 15, 2015.

The following day, Manor returned to the apartment, and Chase and his cousin broke Manor’s cheekbones and nose.

“You know I’ve been wanting to f*** his ass up,” Chase told a girlfriend over text messages. He also sent friends a picture of Manor, who was bloodied and laying facedown on the floor. Chase is charged with first-degree murder, assault with significant bodily injury, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a license.

Assistant United States Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou questioned Chase on the role Demetrius Brandon played in Manor’s murder. Chase said he made plans to hang out with Brandon, but Manor, who was sitting outside of Chase’s sister’s apartment, called him over when Brandon arrived. Chase said he told Manor to leave his sister alone, but Manor became angry. Chase said he shot Manor five times because he seemed to be reaching for a gun. Brandon’s lawyer claims that Brandon did not have any knowledge of the shooting beforehand.

Surveillance videos captured Chase running down the street and being picked up by Brandon by a gas station. Brandon has also been charged with first-degree murder. In addition, Brandon is charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and accessory after the fact in an assault with the intent to kill while armed.

One of Manor’s ex-girlfriends was also called by the defense to establish that Manor was often violent. The girlfriend referenced instances of abuse, such as when Manor fired a gun at her from a wooded area near her home, threw her dog off a balcony and threatened to “blow her brains out” in front of her children.

The trial is expected to resume on March 5.

Retrial for 15-year-old’s homicide begins

Once again Derryck Decuir is standing trial for the alleged fatal shooting of a 15-year-old in Southeast D.C.. The first trial ended in a mistrial in March 2017.

Decuir, 25, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly fatally shooting Malek Mercer as he walked to a friend’s house from a bus stop on the 2800 block of 28th Street, SE.

On Feb. 28, the prosecution said Decuir murdered Mercer, who was a sophomore at Ballou High School, on June 16, 2015, because Decuir believed he needed to prove he was not a homosexual after his friends had taunted him for admiring Mercer’s belt.

The prosecution revisited the information presented in the first trial, placing an enlarged photo of Mercer, in front of the jury and showing footage from several surveillance videos from the buses that night.

During the night on June 15, 2015, Mercer was with friends “hanging out.” Mercer’s father lived in Southeast D.C. and his mother stayed in Clinton, Md., so the teen would usually stay in several different places, living like a “nomad” often with friends, the prosecution said.

On the night of his death, Mercer and the friend he was staying with escorted a third friend for a part of her way home. One the way back, the two ran into Decuir and two friends. The men were coming from a funeral ceremony for Decuir’s father.

Anthony Ryans, one of Decuir’s friends, was on parole at the time. He supposedly asked the boys if they had a cigarette and Decuir asked if the boys sold belts, admiring the red Versace belt and carrying a black duffle bag.

When the boys got to the bus, Decuir and his friends followed. Mercer was shot in the back of the neck almost immediately and died, from the wound, three days later. The prosecution noted that Decuir’s actual stop was more than a mile past where the shooting happened.

Although the defense agreed with most of the events, it claimed that Decuir was acting in self defense because Mercer was carrying a shotgun in his duffle bag. The defense argued self-defense was supported by the fact Decuir only fired once before running away, and said the police did not recover evidence of self defense because their investigation was sloppy.

On the first day of arguments the prosecution called nine witnesses, including Mercer’s mother, the friend who was with Mercer when he was killed, several police officers, a retired police officer and a technology specialist.

Mercer’s mother recalled texting her son before she went to sleep that night, and then being wakened by a phone call summoning her to Washington Hospital Center in Northwest D.C. She also noted, regarding the belt, that her son was very fashionable.

When Mercer’s friend took the stand, the recalled the events of that night but denied seeing or knowing that Mercer had a shotgun.

The police testified to items recovered from the crime scene including two gun casings, one from a shotgun and one from a 9-millimeter handgun, the duffle bag, and the belt, No shotgun at the murder scene.

The trial is scheduled to continue on March 1.

How the desire for revenge turned into Marcellus Green’s murder

The driver in a drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of Marcellus Green testified Feb. 28 to the events leading up to the homicide.

Steven Pugh, who accepted a plea deal for the homicide, said he drove Maricco Knight and Dominique Williams to the 3200 block of 28th Street, SE on the night of the shooting. Williams, 24, is charged with first-degree murder while armed and Knight, 22, is charged with accessory after the fact to an assault with the intent to kill and accessory after the fact to murder.

Pugh said he gave Williams a gun two days before the shooting. On the night of Sept. 18, 2015, Pugh said he picked Williams and Knight up from the Minnesota Avenue metro station and bought a bottle of Patron Tequila from a nearby liquor store.

Pugh told the jury about wanting to confront someone who had slashed his girlfriend’s tires and how Williams wanted to make a statement to someone who threatened him. Pugh said he drove by his girlfriend’s old apartment and saw two men he recognized from the neighborhood, apparently the old men were not the subjects that Williams’ or Pugh had wanted to confront. Push said he tried to stop Williams from shooting, but Knight told him to let Williams shoot.

According to Pugh, he and the two others drove off after the shooting, and a car chase with the police ensued through D.C. and Maryland. He said he intended on driving to his mother’s house in Southwest D.C., but couldn’t shake the police. He instructed Williams to throw the gun out of the vehicle before a police car hit the Honda Accord and caused it to crash.

Williams was the only one in the car to avoid getting arrested.

The trial is expected to continue on March 1.

Kevin Chase says he shot Marcus Manor in self-defense

One of the defendants in a 2015 homicide trial testified Feb. 28 that he shot 38-year-old Marcus Manor as an act of self-defense.

According to Kevin Chase, his decision to shoot Manor on Oct. 20, 2015, was not premeditated and his friend, Demetrius Brandon, just happened to stop by at the time of the shooting.

Chase and Brandon, both 30, have been charged with first-degree murder while armed for the alleged fatal shooting that occurred on the 2900 block of Sherman Avenue, NW.

Chase told the jury that he did get into an altercation with Manor on Oct. 16, 2015, in his sister’s apartment building. Chase’s sister and Manor allegedly had a rocky relationship, and she kicked him out of her apartment that night prior. Chase apparently broke Manor’s cheekbones and nose. He told the jury that Manor swung at him first in the apartment hallway after his sister refused to let him into their room.

Chase said that on the morning of the shooting, he had plans to hang out with Brandon, who drove to Chase’s sister’s apartment to pick him up. When he went outside, he was summoned by Manor, who was sitting in a black Ford Explorer across the street.

When Chase told Manor to leave his sister alone, Chase said Manor became angry and said “I’m going to kill you.” Chase said Manor looked like he was reaching for a gun, so he fired his gun in self-defense. Chase said he was scared he would’ve been killed and that “everything happened so fast.”

The Metropolitan Police Department never found a gun on Manor or in his vehicle, however a knife was discovered in a door compartment on the passenger side.

The prosecution is expected to cross-examine Chase on March 1.

IHOP manager says he spoke to shooter after 2015 drive-by

A manager at an IHOP Restaurant in Southeast D.C. testified to speaking with the man who shot and killed Marcellus Green. However, the manager said he could not identify the man because the encounter happened nearly three years ago.

Dominique Williams is charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with a drive-by shooting that happened on the 3200 block of 28th Street, SE in 2015. Williams,24, was allegedly in the car with two other individuals, Maricco Knight, 22,who is charged with accessory after the fact to an assault with the intent to kill and accessory after the fact to murder. Steven Pugh,22, accepted a plea deal for the homicide and is awaiting sentencing.

The manager, who works at an IHOP on Alabama Avenue, said he was working at the restaurant on the night of Sept. 18, 2015, when he heard sirens outside. He told the jury that he saw a silver Honda Accord speeding down the road and several cop cars racing behind it.

Shortly after seeing the chase, the manager said he stepped outside for a smoke break when he noticed a man walking towards him. He said the man had a large phone and was wearing sagging blue pants that showed green boxers.

According to the manager, the man “bragged” to someone on the phone that he was just in a car chase with the police after shooting a man. The manager said the man said he felt bad because other people were arrested even though he was the shooter.

According to the manager, the man told him and another IHOP employee that he shot someone because they looked at him the wrong way. The manager said the man left in a white convertible. To corroborate the manager’s testimony, the prosecution played camera footage from outside the restaurant that showed a man with a large phone and sagging pants get into a vehicle before driving off.

The trial is expected to continue on Feb. 28.

Medical examiner says Manor likely shot in his vehicle

A medical examiner testified Feb. 27 that 38-year-old Marcus Manor was likely fatally shot while sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle across from his ex-girlfriend’s apartment. According to the prosecution’s expert witness, the eight bullet wounds were consistent with Manor being shot from his left side.

Kevin Chase and his friend, Demetrius Brandon, both 30, are charged with first-degree murder while armed for Manor’s death on the 2900 block of Sherman Avenue, NW on Oct. 20, 2015.

In a photograph presented to the jury, the examiner pointed out soot and stippling on the wounds, which indicated that the gun was fired at close range.

In addition to the soot, the examiner also said Manor had abrasions on his face along with two black eyes, which the prosecution said supports their theory that Chase assaulted Manor on Oct. 16, 2015. Apparently Chase’s sister and Manor were in a tumultuous relationship that resulted in the sister kicking Manor out of her apartment on Oct. 15, 2015.

However, the defense said the examiner could not be sure what physical position Manor was in when he died, nor if he was shot as an act of first-degree murder or self-defense.

Chase is expected to testify on Feb. 28.

EMT testifies to housing murder suspect

The ex-girlfriend of Maricco Knight, who is the emergency medical technician that treated Marcellus Green, testified Feb. 26 to housing Green’s alleged shooter Dominique Williams before his arrest.

The ex-girlfriend said it was a coincidence that she treated Green, 39, on the night of Sept. 19, 2015, mentioning that the scene on the 3200 block of 28th Street, SE was “unforgettable” because of Green’s bloody wounds. Green succumbed to his injuries. He was not the intended target.

The ex-girlfriend said she saw a social media positing that showed Knight and Steven Pugh being arrested for the homicide after a car chase on the same night.

When the ex-girlfriend called Knight, to inquire about the arrest, she said he told her the police were “trying to hit him with a body.” According to the ex-girlfriend, Knight said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ex-girlfriend and Knight began living together in May of 2016.

On the morning of July 21, 2016, Knight’s ex-girlfriend said she had shoulder surgery scheduled and asked Williams, who was staying with her and Knight at the time, if he could put her 6-year-old daughter on the school bus.

While Knight and his ex-girlfriend drove to the hospital that morning, she said she received a call from a detective telling her to pick up her daughter because Williams had been arrested for murder. She said Knight told her the police arrested Williams for the same homicide that he and Pugh had been arrested for.

Knight is charged with accessory to murder while armed and Williams is charged with first-degree murder while armed. Pugh took a plea deal for the homicide.

The trial is expected to continue on Feb. 27.

What did Chase’s sister really know about decedent’s death?

In a 2015 murder trial, the prosecution questioned Feb. 26 the defendant’s sister on her knowledge regarding Marcus Manor’s death.

According to Kevin Chase’s sister, who was also Manor’s girlfriend, she had no idea who was behind an assault on the 38-year-old on Oct. 16, 2015, nor did she know who fatally shot Manor four days later. During opening statements, the prosecution said that Chase assaulted Manor days before the shooting, breaking his nose and cheek bone.

The prosecution presented texts between Manor and the sister, after the assault. In the texts she told him that she “never wanted it to get like this.”

According to the prosecution, the sister also told the police that she “didn’t care” when she found out Manor was killed.

Additionally, according to the prosecution, the sister refused to answer the door when police showed up to take her in for questioning and when she was subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. The sister allegedly hid under a pile of clothes on the top bunk of one of her children’s beds and refused to cooperate, the prosecution said.

The prosecution also insinuated that the sister knew about her brother’s involvement in the homicide and her actions showed signs of guilt. Assistant United States Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou cited phone records that showed two calls between Chase and his sister on the day of Manor’s death.

Chase’s sister testified that Manor and the defendant rarely interacted, despite both of them living in her apartment on the 2900 block of Sherman Avenue, NW. She said that even though arguments between her and Manor were sometimes loud, Chase never heard them.

The defense said Manor’s death was an act self-defense, presenting texts from Manor to the sister that showed him repeatedly threatening to kill both her and her children. The texts included messages, such as, “I will come into your home and murder you.” Manor also stole the sister’s eldest son’s keys and other belongings.

After the sister kicked Manor out of her apartment on Oct. 15, 2015, she said he begged for forgiveness but was still aggressive. According to photos of the crime scene, Manor was sitting in a black Ford Explorer across the street from the sister’s apartment.

Chase and his friend, Demetrius Brandon, both 30, have been charged with first-degree murder while armed.

The prosecution is expected to rest their case on Feb. 27.

Guilty verdict in Benito Valdez case

A four-week long homicide trial for three homicides in 1991 ended on Feb. 16 when a jury found Benito Valdez guilty of multiple counts of first-degree murder while armed. The trial began on Jan. 23.

During the trial, the prosecution proved that Valdez fatally shot Curtis Pixley, 29; Keith Simmons, 24; and Samantha Gillard, 23; on the 1800 block of Franklin Street, NE, located in Langdon Park in Northeast D.C., on April 23, 1991. Valdez was also found guilty of three counts of kidnapping while armed and one count of sodomy while armed.

Following autopsy reports from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a firearms expert, it was determined that Valdez used two separate guns in the homicides. In addition, investigators discovered DNA evidence — Valdez’s semen and spit — on Gillard’s clothing.

Michael Green, who said he sold drugs with Valdez, is the only eyewitness to the homicides. He told the prosecution that he watched Valdez shoot Pixley, Simmons and Gillard “execution-style” — making the victims lay facedown and firing 17 times. He said he and Valdez then drove to Valdez’s mother’s house to clean and take apart the guns and then Valdez’s mother drove them to the Francis Scott Key Bridge to throw both guns over the edge.

Green, along with several other witnesses, told the jury that Valdez was not only known as an aggressive drug dealer, but also routinely mentioned that he committed the homicides. Valdez was charged with the crimes in February of 2016.

Samuel Edmonds, a witness who also sold drugs with Valdez, said he recalled a conversation about unpaid drug money where Valdez said he allegedly shot three people — two men and one woman — when drugs went missing. Edmonds testified on behalf of the prosecution as part of the terms of a 2007 plea deal for an unrelated drug conviction.

Valdez’s ex-girlfriend also told the jury that Valdez told her about the homicides six or seven times during their relationship, usually in a threatening manner, whenever he became angry.

Valdez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13 by Judge Judith Bartnoff.