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By
Allyson Nelles [former]
, --- staff --- - April 29, 2025
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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A former Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) patrol officer described total chaos following a triple homicide, mass shooting crime scene before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on April 24. The multi-faceted litigation, ongoing for four years, involves six defendants facing a laundry list of felony charges for wanton attacks resulting from what appears to be a neighborhood feud.
William Johnson-Lee, 22, Erwin Dubose, 30, Kamar Queen, 27, and Damonta Thompson, 28, are charged with conspiracy, two counts of premeditated first-degree murder while armed with aggravating circumstances, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and three counts of assault with significant bodily injury while armed, for their alleged involvement in the mass shooting that claimed the lives of 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson, 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner.
Dubose, Queen, and Johnson-Lee each face nine additional counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Queen and Thompson each have one additional count of first-degree murder while armed with aggravating circumstances, and Johnson-Lee was accused of two more counts of the same charge. Dubose, Queen, and Thompson also each have an additional charge of one or more counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Dubose and Queen are also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, as well. Dubose has additional charges of premeditated first-degree murder while armed and tampering with physical evidence. Finally, Queen and Johnson-Lee each have an additional charge of carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business.
The incident occurred on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW on Sept. 4, 2021, and left three others suffering from injuries.
Toyia Johnson, 52, and Mussay Rezene, 32, are charged with accessory after the fact while armed and tampering with physical evidence for their alleged involvement in assisting the other defendants in getting rid of the evidence and avoiding getting caught in connection with the case.
The prosecution called a key MPD officer to the stand to testify about his response to shootings on Oglethorpe Street, NW and Longfellow. The Oglethorpe shooting took place around an hour before Longfellow, and prosecutors claimed that Kamar Queen and his friends were targeted, causing them to retaliate.
Shortly after arriving at the Oglethorpe location, he was summoned to Longfellow. There, his body-worn camera footage depicted his putting up crime scene tape, but he was still able to get a good look at what happened. He mentioned the difficulty MPD had in controlling the large crime scene because there were so many bystanders in the blocked off area.
During cross examination, Johnson-Lee’s defense attorney, Peter Fayne, questioned the witness about the scene, who described it as “mayhem,” adding that it had “a lot of moving parts.”
The prosecution also called a forensic scientist to the stand to finish his testimony from the day before. He explained the collection of many items of physical evidence recovered from the scene on Longfellow, such as bullet fragments, casings, sneakers, a backpack, and a pair of jeans.
During the cross examination, the witness admitted that smaller crime scenes are easier to manage.
Outside the presence of the jury, Thompson’s defense attorney, Elizabeth Weller argued the rap videos the prosecution planned to introduce pitting two groups–the Kennedy Street Crew (KDY) and the defendants–against each other were non-equivalent and would prejudice the jury.
While drugs have not been raised as issue in the current case, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office last September, KDY had an extensive drug trafficking operation in Northwest DC and “armed itself with fire power to facilitate the drug trade and defend its territory from rival crews.”
Judge Kravitz did not yet rule on the videos, but plans to before the next witness takes the stand.
Parties are slated to reconvene April 28.