Preliminary Hearing Starts for Murder Case

By D.C. Witness Staff - October 16, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge presided over an Oct. 15 hearing to determine if a murder case has enough evidence to go to trial. However, parties could not complete the hearing because they ran out of time.

Wesley Scott Jr., 20, is charged with first-degree murder and Michael Benbow, 18, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the death of David Deandre Young. Young was 28-years-old when he was fatally shot on April 3 on the 3500 block of 22 Street, SE. 

The lead detective on the case testified during the hearing about the details of the investigation, specifically what the video footage depicted. 

Defense counsel questioned the detective about footage that depicts either an incorrect time stamp or more than one vehicle of the same make and type driving in the area of the crime scene on the day of the murder.

“You can’t say, as you sit here today, whether there is a mistake in the Cobalt or if there was more than one Ford Flex driving around that day?” said Benbow’s defense attorney, Andrew Ain . 

The detective said he could not tell the court with certainty the answer to that question. 

According to court documents, the surveillance tapes show the locations of the Ford Flex are key in establishing a timeline of events for the shooting. One of the tapes has a time stamp that is either incorrect or the tape shows a completely different vehicle. 

The detective said he did not know for sure where the mistake was made, but said he would find out the cause before the next hearing. 

Ain also questioned the detective about other potential suspects, since two additional people were seen on surveillance tapes with the defendants after the car was burned and abandoned. 

The Ford Flex was stolen by unknown culprits in December 2019. When allegedly used in this homicide, it had stolen temporary tags on it. How the defendants came into possession of the vehicle is still unknown. 

Defense attorney Matthew Davies began his cross examination by asking about the differences in what witnesses told police and what they told each other. 

According to witness testimony, one witness told police that it was a drive-by shooting. The witness refused to tell MPD officers why he believed it was a drive-by, since he did not actually see the shooting himself. 

Another witness said the victim was not the intended victim and that the shooting was rumored to be about a feud over a girl. This motive has not yet been confirmed. 

Defense counsel will continue their cross examination after going through new evidence that the prosecution filed today.

Judge Juliet McKenna scheduled the preliminary hearing to pick back up on Oct. 19. 

Scott will continue to be held at DC Jail and Benbow in the Youth Services Center. 

Sierra Robbins wrote this article