‘The Day Has Come to Hold Them Accountable,’ Says Prosecutor in Mass Shooting Case

By Laura Berol - August 20, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

The prosecution rebutted the closing statements of defense attorneys for Antonio Murchison and Mark Price before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun on Aug. 19, bringing an end to arguments before the jury in a trial that has lasted more than two months.

Murchison, 31, and Price, 30, are charged with first-degree murder while armed, five counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, seven counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy, and seven counts of criminal gang affiliation. 

The charges stem from their alleged involvement in a July 16, 2018, mass shooting on the 5300 block of 53rd Street, NE in the Clay Terrace neighborhood. The highly publicized crime left 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson dead and four other individuals with gunshot wounds.

Price is also charged with first-degree murder while armed, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, threat to injure or kidnap a person, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict and first-degree burglary while armed. These charges are connected to the fatal shooting of 47-year-old Andre Hakim Young on July 30, 2018, on the 1500 block of 19th Street, NE. 

A third co-defendant, Quanisha Ramsuer, 31, is charged with obstruction of justice in connection to the homicide.

Six other defendants were convicted in 2023 of charges related to the incident, including:

• Marquell Cobbs, 22 – sentenced to serve six years in prison
• Quentin Michals, 27 – sentenced to serve 40 years in prison
• Gregory Taylor, 28 – sentenced to serve 65 years in prison
• Qujuan Thomas, 25– sentenced to 68 years in prison
• Darrise Jeffers, 24 – sentenced to serve 35 years in prison
• Isaiah Murchison, 24 – sentenced to serve 60 years in prison 

In her rebuttal, the prosecutor displayed a photo of Wilson as a reminder of the terrible cost of the shooting.

“This is why this little girl is dead: these crews are pursuing ‘beefs’ over Instagram, and they’re following them up with actions in real life,” said the prosecutor. 

The prosecutor said she and her co-counsel had called dozens of witnesses over the course of the trial to testify about the authenticity and reliability of evidence such as Instagram messages and videos, firearms, DNA, surveillance video footage and cell site location data. 

Murchison’s defense attorney, Michael Bruckheim, said in his closing argument that these witnesses didn’t implicate his client because they didn’t name him. The prosecutor said their testimony established that the evidence against him could be trusted.

According to the prosecutor, an individual identified as Murchison is visible in surveillance video footage from immediately before and after the shooting, talking with men identified as the co-defendants, including his younger brother Isaiah, who were convicted in 2023. 

The prosecutor said that the video footage shows all these individuals changed into hoodies, wore long pants and put on gloves to prevent any of their DNA from being found in the suspect vehicles.

Bruckheim claimed that other members of the crew texted about Murchison, “He ain’t us.” The prosecutor argued that those texts, when read in the context of the conversation thread, clearly refer to someone other than Murchison.

The prosecutor said other members of the crew discussed getting Price as their driver in Instagram messages in the leadup to the shooting. According to the prosecutor, these messages identified the number of a phone Price was carrying, which was located through cell site data on the route back to Wellington Park after the shooting.

The prosecutor noted police found multiple samples of DNA evidence in the suspect vehicles strongly implicating Price.

Price’s defense attorney, Megan Allburn, said in her closing argument that Price didn’t know who shot him in the foot several months before the mass shooting. The prosecutor said Price knew the man in Clay Terrace who shot him, giving Price a motive to join in the Wellington Park shooting against Clay Terrace.

According to the prosecutor, the primary reason for the mass shooting wasn’t the injury to Price but the killing of another Wellington Park man.

Cary Clennon, Ramsuer’s defense attorney, said in his closing argument that Ramsuer was not lying when she said she couldn’t identify the shooters because she couldn’t recognize their faces on surveillance video footage. 

The prosecutor said Ramsuer was not being asked to identify the shooters from the video but to identify the shooters from her memory of the events captured in the video. According to the prosecutor, Ramsuer’s claim not to know them wasn’t credible, since they all lived so close and one was her cousin, according to DMV records.

“We didn’t anticipate that Ms. Ramsuer’s defense for lying under oath would be that she lied under oath on her DMV form,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor reminded the jury that their duty is simply to determine the facts of the case.

“It’s not up to you to save anyone’s life,” the prosecutor said. “You can’t save Makiyah Wilson’s life. You can’t save their [the defendants’] lives either. The defendants made their choices.”

Judge Okun gave instructions to the jury and they began deliberations.

Parties are slated to reconvene when a verdict is reached.