Editor’s Note: Tyshay Moore was acquitted of all charges by a jury on May 2, 2025.
The lawyer for a shooting defendant claimed she could be wrongfully convicted during opening statements on April 23, before DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson.
Tyshay Moore, 28, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy, and simple assault for her alleged involvement in a shooting that occurred on May 10, 2023, on the 700 block of 7th Street, NW. One victim suffered gunshot wounds to the face and abdomen.
During openings, the prosecution stated that this was a case about jealousy and relationships. What started as an argument with an ex-partner escalated into a shooting in one of the busiest places in DC.
The prosecution laid out the relationships among the main parties for the jury, referring to them as a “love triangle.” The victim dated and had a child with Javonee Jackson, who was a co-defendant. She accepted a plea deal and was severed from the case. Their relationship ended in 2020. In 2021, the same woman began dating Moore. Their relationship ended in 2023, prior to the incident.
The prosecution claims that on the night of the incident, Jackson went to 7th Street to find the victim and talk to him about their son. They began arguing, escalating the situation, walking out into the street. Moore saw this and decided to “take matters into her own hands.”
According to the prosecution, Moore didn’t like that her ex-partner was still “tied up” with the victim. The prosecution claims Moore punched the victim then took out a gun and shot him in the face and abdomen, leaving him to die.
The prosecution stated that both the victim and Jackson will be testifying in the case.
Varsha Govindaraju, Moore’s attorney, told the jury, “If they actually care about what happened to him [the victim], they would find the person who did this. The person who shot the victim is still out there.”
Govindaraju stated that the prosecution’s case relies heavily on the word of the victim who couldn’t see the shooter. According to Govindaraju, the victim told police he “doesn’t know who shot him.” She also said that the victim has allegedly lied multiple times in criminal cases.
Govindaraju stated that the identification of Moore by the victim’s ex partner is baseless, as she was facing “decades and decades and decades” in prison, so she was pressured into taking a plea deal to avoid jail. Govindaraju told the jury, “the story she will be telling is a story to save herself.”
Govindaraju said there is no DNA, no fingerprints, and no footage from before or after the incident to link Moore to the crime. She ended by stating, “Moore didn’t punch the victim, didn’t shoot the victim, and the [prosecution] didn’t care to find out who did.”
The prosecution called Jackson to testify. She stated she had gone to 7th Street that night because it was her son’s birthday and the victim was “not being a father.” Surveillance footage showed her begin to kick a person identified as the victim before two hooded individuals punched him.
She testified that one of the individuals was a mutual friend of hers and Moore, and the other was Moore herself. She stated she could tell it was Moore even though she was wearing a white mask because she recognized her eyes and voice.
Footage showed the victim running away into the street while Jackson appears to follow, still verbally harassing him, before an individual, later identified as Moore, allegedly took out her gun and shot him.
The witness testified she heard the gunshots and turned around to see the victim on the ground. She told the court, “part of me wanted to stay and part of me wanted to go” but stated, “If I stayed there would be an issue.” The footage showed her fleeing the scene.
The witness stated, “he’s like my best friend,” referring to the victim. She began to cry, stating “we go through a lot but we get through it.”
The witness stated that Moore and the victim had a “hatred relationship.” When Moore and the witness were together, Moore had problems with letting the victim see his son, who was under Jackson’s care.
The witness told the court that on the morning of the incident, she had called Moore to come watch her son because she was going to be taken away by the police after an altercation with her neighbor. According to the witness, when Moore arrived she had a gun.
According to the prosecution, Jackson was arrested on May 11, 2024, but wouldn’t cooperate with the detectives. In court, she stated she “wasn’t really trying to talk” at the time. She said, “situations like this people call it snitching, it’s a safety issue, people die when they snitch.”
Jackson was unable to conclude her testimony, and is scheduled to continue April 24..
The prosecution also called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer to the stand. The officer testified that she responded to the scene and found someone bleeding from the face, screaming “help me.” Body worn camera footage shows her render aid, holding his face as she requested more medical attention.
The prosecution called an off-duty police officer from Missouri who was in town on a work trip for national police week. The officer testified to seeing multiple individuals having a heated argument in the street. After about ten seconds, he heard five-to-six gunshots and proceeded to dive for cover behind a vehicle.
The officer said that he identified the shooter and started chasing them but lost sight, so he proceeded to render aid to the victim.
The officer testified that he waited on the scene until emergency personnel arrived. He told the officers that arrived that he believed the shooter was a young black man with dreadlocks.
Parties are slated to reconvene 4.24
