Detective testimony and surveillance footage provided evidence of probable cause in a homicide case before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Oct. 8.
Andre Townsend, 31, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of Derrick Howard, 39, on the 3000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE on March 18.
The prosecution called the investigating detective to testify about surveillance footage he collected of the incident. He stated that a man he identified as Townsend can be seen sticking his arm up as shots are heard and the victim is seen falling to the ground. The men were gathered outside a shoe store for a release of a new item new item, and a dispute between a group including the victim and a group involving the defendant ensued, according to the detective.
The witness claimed that he identified the shooter by presenting a photo array and showing Instagram pictures to witnesses. He stated that three different people independently identified Townsend as the shooter. He also said that he interviewed the defendant twice, both before and after his arrest, about the shooting and his answers were not consistent each time.
Cross examination confirmed that Townsend could not be identified from the video directly. He also revealed, as was also in the arrest warrant, that one of the witnesses admitted to the detective that he had a firearm as well at the time of the incident but did not fire it.
Judge Ryan ultimately decided that there was probable cause to move forward on the charge of second-degree while armed because of the testimony of the witness, the identification of the shooter by multiple witnesses, and cell site data putting Townsend in the area of the shooting.
Court is set to reconvene for a felony status conference Nov. 21 before Judge Rainey Brandt
