Prosecution Witnesses Build Evidence in 2013 Homicide Case

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

On June 5, prosecutors introduced four witnesses who offered different perspectives of a 2013 murder case.

Victor Coley, 60, is charged with first-degree murder while armed premeditated, assault with intent to kill, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a shooting that left four individuals injured on Nov. 6, 2013, on the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE.

On Dec. 3, 2021, 65-year-old Dennis Foster, one of the victims from the shooting, succumbed to his injuries some eight years later.

The prosecution’s first witness, a retired police officer, arrived at the scene shortly after receiving a radio call about the shootings. He explained his role in securing evidence and how he helped arrest the suspect.

When the officer was questioned about his arrival on scene he replied, “It was chaos.”

A crime scene technician recalled being dispatched to the Washington Hospital Center to collect evidence from an elderly victim who sustained a gunshot wound on her right leg.

Prosecutors presented photographs of the victim in the hospital and her bloody jeans which are still stained on the right side some eight years after she was shot.

Prosecutors then questioned a crime scene investigator who showed diagrams of the scene and physical evidence collected including firearms and used shell casings.

The final prosecution witness was an expert in firearms and bullet markings analysis. He compared shell casings recovered at the scene to test firings of guns allegedly used in the shootings.

The expert explained that similar characteristics were found after a microscopic examination of the shell casings in the test firing and the firearms found at the scene.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys questioned the validity of the evidence over concerns about alleged mishandling of items and the thoroughness of testing.

Defense lawyers also targeted the credibility of the firearms expert saying his testimony was paid for by the prosecution.

The trial is slated to resume before D.C. Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on June 6.