‘Uncooperative’ Victim Testifies About a Shooting Linked to 2020 Homicide, Conspiracy Case

By Carmen Quinteros - April 30, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A homicide victim’s cousin was brought from DC Jail to testify before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt about a shooting the prosecution says is related to a murder case involving three primary co-defendants. 

Koran Jackson, 23, Tyiion Kyree Freeman, 24, and Stephen Nelson, 33, are three of five individuals charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, assault with the intent to kill while armed, first-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020 on the 600 block of S Street, NW.

The shooting also left a second juvenile victim located in the vicinity suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the right leg.  

The case also involves alleged co-conspirators Reginald Steele, 24, and Aaron Brown, 27.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has attempted to connect Jackson, Freeman, and Nelson to additional shootings that occurred on Feb. 22, Feb. 24, and a second shooting on March 1, 2020. The prosecution alleges a firearm conspiracy by the defendants, in which they aimed to obtain and use specific weapons in Lukes’ homicide.

On April 29, the prosecution called a surviving victim from the Feb. 24 shooting to the stand who is currently in the DC Jail for undisclosed felony charges.

According to court documents, three individuals sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident. 

The witness, who is Lukes’ older cousin, stated “That’s family, that’s family,” when asked how he knew Malachi. 

He had previously testified in the grand jury case against the defendants, including Steele and Brown, on Nov. 1, 2021. 

According to the witness, he had left a recording studio and was walking on the 1600 block of ninth street, NW, towards a liquor store with his two friends when the shooting occurred. 

When the prosecution asked how many times he was shot, he responded “I don’t know, once in my leg I think.” 

However, the prosecution presented his grand jury testimony where he stated he got shot in both legs and once on his buttocks. 

Additionally, he did not recall the color of the suspect vehicle or how many individuals were in it. 

However, his grand jury testimony suggests otherwise in which he testified that “[The vehicle] was white or gray.”

The prosecution asked if it was possible that his memory about the incident was “more fresh” four years ago during his grand jury testimony. “It was all a blur,” he stated. 

The witness, deemed uncooperative by the prosecution, testified during cross examination by Andrew Ain, Freemans’ defense attorney, that he had appeared in a friend’s rap video once.  After being prodded by Ain, the witness acknowledged he was in a rap video with Lukes.

Prosecutors have previously presented testimony citing a motive for the multiple shootings as a “rap beef.”

Brian McDaniel, Jackson’s defense attorney, asked if it was correct to state that he had no description or identification of the individuals that shot him. “Yeah, I don’t know who shot me,” the witness responded. 

The prosecution called a Department of Forensic Science (DFS) employee who analyzed bullet fragments from the Feb. 24 shooting.

There was no cross examination from defense attorneys after a ruling prohibiting any discussion about the DFS representative’s testing his own blood as part of this investigation–something the defense alleges. Judge Brandt said the defense couldn’t tie this issue to the lab’s earlier loss of accreditation which has since been partly resolved.

Parties are set to return April 30.