Pre-Trial Motions Continue in Homicide Case of 13-Year-Old Boy

By McKenna Bryant , Ashley Drazka - January 28, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles |

On Jan. 25, DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt heard testimony to rule on a defendant’s motion to suppress autopsy photographs of the victim.

Koran Jackson, 23, Reginald Steele, 24, Tyiion Kyree Freeman, 24, Stephen Nelson, 22 and Aaron Dequan Brown, 27, are charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, assault with the intent to kill while armed, first-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020 on the 600 block of S Street, NW. The incident also left a seven-year-old boy suffering from gunshot wound injuries. 

Steele’s defense attorney, Megan Allburn, cross examined the prosecution’s witness, a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer, who testified that upon responding to the 911 call about a seven-year-old who was shot, the officer encountered the juvenile’s mother. 

According to the officer, the mother first explained the juvenile was shot outside. After other officers searched, they could not find evidence of an injured juvenile around the building. When the officer asked the mother again, “her demeanor shifted” and she explained that the incident happened inside. The officer left to respond to a different call.

Prosecution then called an MPD detective to testify, who reviewed body-worn camera footage from multiple officers at the scene. In one video, the seven-year-old is seen with paramedics on a stretcher. This footage also reveals officers discovering a handgun in a pack-and-play crib inside the residence.

Another video focuses on a hallway, where Lukes, who had also been shot, was discovered. The detective stated he had no information on possible suspects at the time MPD was at the scene. 

During cross examination from Allburn, the detective stated no video surveillance footage was collected from the building in which the incident took place.

After the detective’s testimony, Judge Brandt heard the defense’s motion to suppress autopsy photos of Lukes. Shawn Sukumar, Freeman’s defense attorney, argued that “the risk of prejudice is just far too great.” 

Prosecution responded by saying that these photos are “not unfairly prejudicial because at the end of the day, this is what we are dealing with.”

While Judge Brandt has not made her final ruling on the motion, she noted that “homicides in their very nature are not pretty,” and that the prejudice surrounding the photos does not outweigh the probative value. 

Prosecution then called the lead detective on the case, a member of MPD’s Special Victims Unit, to testify. The lead detective said this was a “complex investigation” as not only did it take place during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were also very few witnesses, a significant amount of surveillance video footage to review, and he had to compare the GPS data from the car that the suspects were driving to the video footage. 

The lead detective further testified that a fellow police officer identified Steele from a still taken from one of the surveillance videos, without further discussing how the officer knew Steele. A search warrant was subsequently obtained for Steele’s phone as the lead detective believed it contained evidence in connection to the shooting.

Parties are slated to return Jan. 29.