Prosecution Builds Conspiracy Theory in Homicide of a 13-Year-Old

By Anthoine Godin - March 26, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On March 25, witnesses testified before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt about evidence collected by search warrants against alleged murder co-conspirators.

Koran Jackson, 23, Tyiion Kyree Freeman, 24, and Stephen Nelson, 33, are three of five individuals 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 shooting also left a second juvenile victim located in the vicinity suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the right leg.  

The case also involves alleged co-conspirators Reginald Steele, 24, and Aaron Brown, 27. 

The prosecution alleges that the defendants alleged killing was in retaliation for shooting 19-year old Tahlil Byrd on the 600 block of S Street Sept. 9, 2019.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has attempted to connect Jackson, Freeman, and Nelson to additional shootings that occurred on Feb. 22, Feb. 24, and a second shooting on March 1, 2020. The prosecution alleges a firearm conspiracy by the defendants, in which they aimed to obtain and use specific weapons resulting in Lukes’ homicide .  

To introduce a firearm they believe was involved in the homicide, prosecution called a former forensic analyst of the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) to identify evidence he collected in a search warrant. 

The search warrant was executed on May 29, 2020, on the 1800 block of Bruce Place, SE. The residents were identified by the prosecution as Byrd family members who the prosecution claims was a friend of the defendants. The prosecution alleges the address was a safe-house for the co-defendants.

The analyst presented physical evidence from the search including a firearm, cartridge casings, a ballistics vest, and 11 sets of car keys.

Furthermore, the witness identified the firearm as a semi-automatic Glock which the prosecution alleged as one of the weapons used in the Lukes’ homicide in opening statements of this trial.

Of the 11 sets of car keys found, the witness identified one of them as belonging to a Kia. The vehicle that the defendants allegedly used in all of the shootings has been repeatedly identified as a gray Kia Soul.

The prosecution also called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) homicide detective to testify regarding another search warrant conducted on March 29, 2020 on the 3600 block of 11th Street, NW, an address associated with Jackson during which a pair of green Nike tennis shoes were located. .

An additional search warrant was also executed on March 29, 2020, on the 2600 block of Douglas Road, SE, in conjunction with an arrest warrant for Steele. Inside the residence, law enforcement allegedly recovered a pair of Balenciaga tennis shoes, and a firearm with an extended magazine in the closet of the main bedroom.

According to the detective, individuals there say they didn’t know a gun was on the premises.

Related to Steele, the prosecution brought in a former DFS employee who had worked in the digital evidence unit to verify Steele’s phone as it was brought into evidence. The witness testified that in an examination of Steele’s phone, text conversations, call logs, and location data were collected and included in her report. 

The prosecution also intends to use digital evidence from Steele’s phone to present text conversations with the defendants showing the three defendants were engaged in a conspiracy.

Parties are slated to return March 26.