Shooting Suspect Claims Self-Defense as Trial Begins

By Madelyn Nall - November 6, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

A jury trial began for a shooting defendant before DC Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld on Nov. 4.

Deon Jenkins, 46, is charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, carrying a dangerous weapon outside the home or business with a prior felony, possession of a destructive device, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition for his alleged involvement in a Sept. 29, 2023, non-fatal shooting that occurred on the 1800 block of M Street, NE.

According to court documents, Jenkins shot multiple times at a moving vehicle that was speeding toward him. The defendant fell to the ground and then fled while the vehicle crashed through a fence and into a nearby yard. He was found in a residential neighborhood with gunshot wounds and taken to the hospital.

During opening statements, the prosecution argued that Jenkins possessed a firearm and shot the weapon at a moving car. Their focus was that Jenkins did not have a license to carry this weapon, and that he came to the scene with a weapon in hand.

“Deon Jenkins brought a gun to a gun fight well before the gun fight occurred,” the prosecutor stated. 

Defense attorney Lauren Morehouse argued that Jenkins’ actions were in self-defense, only using the gun as a last resort. Morehouse explained that Jenkins took fire and followed by two cars. Jenkins sustained injuries to his legs and a hand, and only after failing to escape did he grab the gun.

“The only reason why we’re here and not reading about his death, is because he acted to defend himself,” Morehouse stated. 

The prosecution’s first witness was a resident whose home security cameras captured the incident. The witness testified he lived next to the alley where the incident occurred, and correctly identified the camera footage of the incident captured by his cameras.

The prosecution called on a sergeant who was flagged down and brought to Jenkins lying on the ground needing medical attention. He testified he called for medical attention before responding to a report of a shooting—the incident’s original location. 

Morehouse used cross examination to ask about the investigation process that occurred on the night of the incident. She pointed out a lack of canvassing door to door for witnesses and camera footage, 911 callers who were never contacted, potential DNA collections that were never ordered, and leads of potential witnesses who weren’t contacted, including a woman who spoke to the sergeant and a man walking by trying to get to his car. 

The sergeant mostly answered that he couldn’t recall, but that if there was an order, it would’ve appeared on the body worn camera footage; Morehouse clarified that these orders were not on the footage.  

Morehouse asked about the two different shell casings that were found at the scene. She asked about matching the shell casings to different gun models, and asked where the casings were found. She confirmed that the 45 caliber casings—the gun Jenkins allegedly owned illegally—were not present at the beginning of the shooting with the other casings. 

Instead, Morehouse argued, the location of the casings that match the gun the prosecution claimed Jenkins illegally possessed imply he shot later.

Morehouse also questioned the sergeant about previous conduct violations he had with MPD. She mentioned multiple sustained findings that the sergeant had, including failing to canvas for video footage, failing to recognize excessive use of force, failing to notify for medical attention, harassment, unlawful search of home, frisking complaints, failing to identify himself, and six body worn camera violations. 

On redirect, the prosecutor clarified that the sergeant’s body-worn camera was on the night of the incident, and that his role at the scene is to coordinate and assist.

The prosecution also called a forensics services manager from ShotSpotter, a company that assists local police departments to help detect gunshots in a specific location. 

According to the manager, sensors are placed around a location, and an incident is recorded when three sensors are activated. He stated that the system will determine if it’s gunfire, before being passed to a human who makes the final decision and publishes the incident to the customer. In this case, the customer is the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

The prosecution showed the witness audio recordings by ShotSpotter from the night of the incident, correctly identifying the shots that came from the alley where Jenkins allegedly shot.

During Morehouse’s cross, she clarified that the sensors can’t detect if there’s more than one shooter, which the witness confirmed. 

The trial will resume on Oct. 5.