Surviving Victim Testifies in Homicide Trial 

By Adriana Marroquin - January 12, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Jan. 11, a surviving victim testified regarding the shooting that took his best friend’s life before a jury in DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo’s courtroom. 

Vorreze Thomas, 25, and his uncle Delonta Stevenson, 28, are charged with conspiracy, first-degree murder while armed, and two counts of assault with intent to kill, among other charges, for their alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Terrance Allen. The incident occurred on Jan. 18, 2021, on the 3000 block of Stanton Road, SE, and left two other individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. All three victims were found inside of a vehicle at the scene. 

The victim, who stated all he wanted to do was tell his side of the story, became visibly frustrated when prosecutors questioned him about his personal criminal cases. According to the prosecutors, he has a pending case for driving under the influence in North Carolina, and was put on a GPS monitor by the state to ensure he showed up to testify at this trial. 

“You worry about what the f**k I’m doing,” the witness said, adding “he [the prosecutor] thinks it’s a f*****g game or something.” The prosecution mentioned his pending case to ensure the jury knows they are not assisting him with any of his cases, and his testimony is purely for him to explain what happened on the day of the incident. 

According to the witness, Allen was his childhood best friend, and they spent a lot of time together growing up. Once they got older and both became “working men,” they only saw one another when they could. 

The witness testified that, on the day of the incident, he and Allen “were supposed to get a tire.” According to Allen’s friend, when he got into Allen’s white Ford, “he had a lil youngin’ with him,” referring to the other surviving victim. 

The witness insisted he didn’t know the other victim that day, and he “still don’t know his name or nothing.” 

He explained that when Allen and the other individual picked him up, they drove to the other victim’s mom’s house, who lived at the apartments “we got shot at.” Allen and the two individuals drove the mother to a grocery store down the street, and dropped her back off at Stanton Glenn Apartments. 

As they were leaving the complex, the witness said, he got in the passenger seat, Allen in the driver’s seat, and “lil youngin” in the back seat.  “If it wasn’t for the lil youngin, Terrance would still be here,” he claimed, adding that “motherf*****g sh*t started hitting the car,” referencing the bullets. He stated he didn’t see where the shots were coming from, but was shot three times on his shoulder as he was ducked in the vehicle. 

When prosecutors asked how many shots were fired, the witness, clearly frustrated, stated he didn’t know, but there were definitely a few shots, adding “you’ve seen the car”. 

According to the witness, he still has bullet fragments in his shoulder from the incident. Prosecutors displayed images of the witness at the hospital, one portraying his shoulder injuries with a bloody bandage. 

When discussing who sustained injuries in the vehicle, the witness stated “I was right there beside [Allen]… if it wasn’t for the lil youngin in the car, he’d still be here”. All three individuals were shot, he added, saying he tried to help his best friend before Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived. 

He added that neither he or Allen had any beefs with anyone, and he was upset that a Special Police Officer (SPO) at the scene had put him in handcuffs before officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) showed up. 

Prosecutors also called up a MPD officer who responded to the scene. 

According to the officer, he arrived at the scene with two other officers who he was training, and assisted with preserving the life of the victims, the scene, and evidence. 

When asked to describe the scene, the officer stated it was a “chaotic, busy, active scene,” adding that there were several people from the complex watching it all unfold. 

Prosecutors displayed the officer’s body-worn camera, which depicts him and his trainees arriving at the scene. In the footage, the two surviving victims can be seen in handcuffs, one against the hood of the white Ford, and the other on the curb. Allen’s body can be seen lying next to the vehicle. 

The officer stated that Allen was not showing signs of life, and was suffering from gunshot wounds, adding that the attempts to preserve his life were unsuccessful, and he died at the scene. 

One of the surviving victims, he said, was arrested and charged for carrying a pistol without a license, after MPD recovered a firearm from the vehicle. 

Parties are slated to return Jan. 16.