Prosecutors Call Defendant a ‘Clever Story Teller’ in Homicide Trial

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The prosecution argued the defendant’s testimony differed from his initial interview with police to justify his self-defense claim in a homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on April 7 and 8.

Julian Ruffin, 34, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing of 38-year-old Alphonso Lee on October 7, 2022 on the 1500 block of Butler Street, SE.

During the trial, Ruffin’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, called Ruffin to testify about the incident. Ruffin recalled leaving his apartment to smoke marijuana with a friend who lived across the apartment complex. He noticed a group of people gathered around his vehicle, but did not interact with them until he left his friend’s apartment, when he made a joke and asked them to leave his car alone. According to Ruffin, Lee responded with “I got your car” in an aggressive manner.

Ruffin explained that he went inside to change his shoes from flip-flops to tennis shoes because he wanted to figure out the problem. “Best case scenario, we figure it out and talk like men…worst case scenario we fight,” said Ruffin. As he walked to his apartment, he allegedly heard Lee threatening him.

“I knew he was talking about me,” said Ruffin.

After Ruffin saw Lee on top of his car, they exchanged words. Lee touched Ruffin, and Ruffin said he pushed him off. Ruffin testified that Lee repeatedly asked him to go around the corner. “I was trying to keep my composure,” said Ruffin.

Ruffin claimed that Lee pushed him to the wall inside his apartment building, punched him, and had his left hand behind his back.

“I’m thinking I’m about to be shot…I know this man to be this type of person,” recounted Ruffin. Ruffin testified he punched Lee and then stabbed him with his pocket knife.

According to Ruffin, the strikes did not stop Lee from hitting Ruffin or reaching behind his back. Then Ruffin’s pregnant girlfriend came into the hallway and pulled him inside the apartment. Ruffin claimed that he learned of Lee’s death at the police station.

Ruffin also testified that he saw Lee with guns multiple times before, the last time being a few months before the incident.

During cross-examination, Ruffin acknowledged that he did not see Lee with a gun at any point that night and does not remember if he noticed a “bulge” in Lee’s pants. Ruffin also admitted he did not mention to detectives that he had previously seen Lee with guns.

Prosecutors argued that Ruffin changed his account after learning about self-defense as a possible justification.. They played a video of a detective at the homicide branch informing Ruffin about self-defense laws. “If [Lee] actually had a gun that would make what you did, stabbing him 20 times with a knife, justified,” asserted the prosecution.

Ruffin responded, “I’m not trying to do anything but tell the truth sir.”

During closing arguments, Irving argued that Ruffin’s testimony only added additional details, not differences in his story. Irving asserted that Lee’s hand behind his back was a deadly threat of violence, and even if appearances were false, it was still self-defense because Ruffin believed Lee had a gun. “It doesn’t matter how many times he stabbed him, he did what he had to do to keep that gun from coming out,” said Irving.

The prosecution argued in closing that Ruffin did not act in self-defense because he was the initial aggressor. They added that there is no evidence that Lee had a gun and it is pure speculation by the defense.

“If [Lee] had a gun he would have used it,” asserted the prosecution. Prosecutors maintained that “[Ruffin] is a clever story teller” and decided to change his story to fit the evidence.

The prosecution also called four forensic toxicologists from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) who performed post autopsy screens on Lee. They identified his blood alcohol level at 0.04–well below the legal limit– and detected no drugs.

Parties are scheduled to reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.