Parties in Murder Trial Deliver Closing Arguments

By D.C. Witness Staff - December 7, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Editors Note: The defendant in this case has since been acquitted on all counts. 

A murder trial wrapped up with parties delivering their closing arguments.

“He was not going to stop until he was absolutely sure Daniel Parker was dead because he was out for revenge,” the prosecutor said of the defendant, Dewayne Shorter on Dec. 6. The 33-year-old is charged with first-degree murder while armed in Parker’s death on July 26, 2017, on the 2000 block of Fairlawn Avenue, SE.

The prosecutor heavily pushed on Shorter allegedly telling Parker’s brother, “I got bodies, you got bodies” at the scene of the shooting. Parker, 38, had allegedly shot Shorter just a few months prior while he was sitting in a car. 

The prosecutor argued that killing Parker was retaliatory and this phrase was an admittance. He also said Shorter’s arm wound should have been healed enough by the time of the shooting for him to hold a gun. 

The prosecution continued, saying one of the witnesses was also allegedly told by Parker that if anything happens to him, Shorter was to blame. He said this witness, aligned with multiple others, identified Shorter as a shooter. 

Shorter allegedly chased Parker down the street in order to shoot him. 

“He was hunting Daniel Parker down,” the prosecutor said.

Both DNA and fingerprint evidence were unavailable to identify Shorter as the shooter. But the prosecutor said, “Not every case has DNA and it doesn’t have to.” He argued that the witnesses’ identification was clear reasoning to point to Parker as the shooter.

“The reasons to doubt are too huge,” defense attorney Jon Norris told the jury during his closing arguments.

Norris argued that the case was built around Parker’s brother’s story, specifically the alleged “I bodies, you got bodies,” statement. 

The “case makes no sense, ladies and gentlemen,” Norris said. 

Norris said the prosecutor downplayed the identification multiple witnesses gave. They said the shooter was a “light-skinned” individual and compared this to Shorter’s darker complexion. 

“When you deliberate, presume Dewayne Shorter innocent,” he finished.