A fatal shooting victim’s girlfriend told a jury and DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan that the victim had killed someone the defendant knew during a trial on April 15.
Bernard Eddy, 25, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license for his alleged involvement in the shooting of 16-year-old Steffen Brathwaite on Sept. 10, 2019 on the 3000 block of 24th Place SE.
The prosecution called on a friend and former girlfriend of Brathwaite’s. She claimed that Brathwaite had confirmed his involvement in the killing of 15-year-old Gerald Watson, providing a motive for Eddy to kill him because he knew Watson.
A one-time friend of Eddy’s continued his testimony from April 14. He stated that after Eddy left the group and gunshots were heard, Eddy returned to the car and said nothing about what happened. However, when testifying before the Grand Jury earlier this year, the witness claimed that Eddy said, “I think I got him.”
The witness continued to say that although everyone went their separate ways, he and Eddy later ended up together about an hour after the incident. While smoking, Eddy filmed a video of his miming gunfire and stating that he was, “Smoking Stef pack.” The witness explained that this phrase implies that the person named was “smoked,” or killed.
Eddy’s attorney, Julie Swaney, questioned if that phrase implied guilt or could be more of a taunt. The witness shared that he had heard many people say the phrase in reference to Watson’s death despite not being involved in his murder.
Swaney also raised concern that only two weeks ago, the witness told the prosecution that Eddy said, “I hit him,” after returning to the car. This means three different claims were shared with prosecutors, questioning how reliable the claims are if they keep changing.
She also clarified with the witness that Eddy had never forced the driver of the car to turn around to return to where they saw Brathwaite.
A forensic scientist with the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) testified that she recovered a firearm. This firearm was a Ruger SR9c, the same type of firearm previously associated with Eddy.
Another of Eddy’s attorneys, Destiny Fullwood-Singh, questioned the witness if there was any confirmation that it was the same firearm that Eddy had owned. The witness explained that the serial number was scratched off of the recovered firearm, so there was no way they could confirm it was the same weapon.
Parties are slated to reconvene on April 17.
