Prosecution Displays Evidence Recovered from Crime Scene

By Grace Raines [former] - October 28, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

During an Oct. 27 proceeding, multiple items recovered from the crime scene were presented to a jury in a co-defendant homicide trial.

Jonathan Winston, 33, and Rakeem Willis, 31, are both charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the shooting of 26-year-old Javon Abney, 26-year-old Sean Shuler, and 24-year-old Tyrik Hagood on Jan. 26, 2019, at the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place, SE.

A witness, a friend of Shuler’s, told prosecutors about a Facetime call between her and Shuler the night of his murder. She said nothing was unusual about the call, but he was in a vehicle with Abney and another person.

A screenshot of the Facetime call was presented to jurors. Shuler and the witness had a one-minute call at 9:57 p.m. before ShotSpotter detected gunshots at 10 p.m. 

A crime scene examiner told the court that she processed the scene and documented evidence featured in the trial.

More than $8,500 were found on the victims’ bodies and in a bag recovered from a different area.

Evidence recovered included a firearm, cartridge casings, and a Rolex watch. These items were shown to jurors through photographs and as physical evidence.

Winston’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, questioned the crime scene examiner about a suspension she received in June 2019. She clarified that she failed to secure evidence from a separate crime scene, so she reported the missing item leading to her suspension. 

DC Superior Judge Michael Ryan scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 31 for more witness testimonies.