Trial Continues Without Jury for Discussions Between Defense and Prosecution

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During a trial on April 26, DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun ruled on objections the defense and prosecution would have when the jury returned.

Gregory Taylor, 27, Quentin Michals, 25, Qujuan Thomas, 24, Darrise Jeffers, 23, Isaiah Murchison, 23, and Marquell Cobbs, 21, are six of 10 defendants charged with first-degree murder, criminal street gang affiliation, conspiracy, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with intent to kill, and other charges regarding a fatal drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson. The shooting happened on the 300 block of 53rd Street, NE on July 16, 2018.

The jury did not sit in Wednesday’s hearing because the parties went over objections, mainly from the defense, which Judge Okun ruled on.

The bulk of the objections revolved around text messages between the defendants. The prosecutor showed screenshots of the conversations between each of the defendants and said they all implicated at least one of the other defendants in each message.

The defense argued the messages held no relevance and were merely speculative because they did not explicitly admit to committing any crimes.

The prosecutor went through the objections for each defendant and Judge Okun ruled in favor of the prosecution the majority of the time, allowing them to introduce the messages as evidence.

Discussions shifted to the charge of conspiracy the defendants are charged with.

The defense argued the evidence the prosecution has presented throughout the trial does not attribute the defendants’ actions to conspiracy.

However, the prosecutor disagreed, citing pieces of evidence she felt connected the defendants all in some conspiracy to the murder.

Judge Okun said he would rule on this matter at the next hearing.

The parties are scheduled to return April 27 to continue the trial.

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