Prosecution urges jury to convict alleged shooter

By D.C. Witness Staff - February 16, 2018
Court | Homicides | Suspects |

The prosecution in a 2015 murder trial recently said 27-year-old Davon Peyton‘s testimony about
21-year-old Ray Andre Harrison’s death was illogical.

In response to the defense’s closing argument, Assistant United States Attorney Katie Earnest said Feb. 15 that self-defense is not applicable for Peyton because he made the conscious decision to grab a loaded gun and go through two sets of locked doors instead of calling the police.

According to the prosecution, Peyton was angry with Harrison and his actions conflicted with his testimony. On Feb. 13, Peyton said he wanted to protect his girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter, but Earnest pointed out that fleeing the scene with the murder weapon indicated a different story.

Earnest said Harrison was fighting for his life when the altercation occurred, which the DNA evidence supported. She also said Peyton’s phone records showed that Harrison’s visit was not unexpected.

The prosecution played a voicemail that Peyton’s girlfriend left for him while she was talking to detectives. In the voicemail, she told Peyton that “needs to make better decisions.” Earnest said the voicemail showed Peyton acted intentionally when he shot Harrison.

“Peyton saying ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t bring Ray Harrison back,” said Earnest. “Saying ‘I’m sorry’ does not make Davon Peyton not guilty.”