An analyst in cellular phone technology and call site analysis testified before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz during a murder, mass shooting trial on June 3.
Erwin Dubose, 31, Kamar Queen, 28, Damonta Thompson, 28, and William Johnson-Lee, 22, are charged with conspiracy, premeditated first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, among other charges, for their alleged involvement in the mass shooting that killed 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson, 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner. The incident occurred on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW on Sept. 4, 2021, and injured three additional individuals.
Mussay Rezene, 32, and Toyia Johnson, 53, are charged with accessory after the fact while armed and tampering with physical evidence for their alleged involvement in assisting the other defendants discard evidence and avoid arrests.
Prosecutors called on a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), who testified he analyzed the whereabouts of the defendants’ cellphones on Sept. 4, 2021, in the hours leading up to and after the mass shooting.
According to the agent, some of the defendants’ numbers were active throughout the night, and others stayed off the grid periodically. The agent was able to find several outgoing and incoming calls and text messages from their phones.
Through his analysis, the agent was able to determine the movement of two numbers allegedly belonging to Rezene and a relative of Dubose. The two cell phone numbers were using the same towers throughout the night, but from different sectors, according to the agent. Both numbers moved to the east of the Maryland side of the district, then headed south.
The government also presented findings from messages ostensibly exchanged between Rezene and Dubose on Instagram. She revealed Rezene messaged Dubose his number so they could meet up.
Rezene’s attorneys, Camille Wagner and Kevin Robertson, argued that Rezene was not at the crime scene when the murders occurred. They claimed that tracking Rezene’s phone proved that he was on the way to meet Dubose, who was in DC, however Rezene was still in Maryland.
Parties are slated to reconvene on June 4.
