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By
Emily Reed [former]
, Lily Engel [former], Namita Nair [former] - July 24, 2024
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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Prosecutors introduced evidence of murder defendants allegedly with guns, then called the ex-girlfriend of a defendant to testify in front of DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun on July 23.
Mark Price, 29, and Antonio Murchison, 31, 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 mass shooting on July 16, 2018, on the 5300 block of 53rd Street, NE in the Clay Terrace neighborhood. The incident 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.
The 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 from 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
On July 22, prosecutors brought an expert in firearms to testify about the analysis he conducted on ballistic evidence collected from Clay Terrace.
Based on a comparison of the cartridge casings the expert determined there were at least four guns fired on July 16 identified as from from a 5.56 x 45 rifle, a .45 auto handgun, and two 9mm Lugers.
His testimony that four firearms were utilized during the mass shooting corroborates the prosecution’s claim that there were four gunmen.
On July 23, the expert was shown photos and videos from various Instagram accounts which showed several individuals, one of which appeared to be Murchison, with several different guns.
The expert said the individuals had an AK-47-type firearm, two AR-15 pistols, a “Draco” gun (AK-47-style pistol), a Glock with an extended magazine, and various Glocks and handguns.
During cross examination, Murchison’s defense attorney, Steven Ogilvie, said the accuracy of firearms analysis is a matter of scientific dispute.
Price’s defense attorney, Megan Allburn, presented the witness with photographs of advertised fake and look- alike guns the witness agreed resembled the real things.
The prosecution also called a witness with a past personal connection to Murchison, who she knew as “Tony.” She said due to a seizure condition, she struggles with long-term memories, so a large portion of her testimony was from her grand jury testimony in 2018.
The prosecution attorney read from the witness’ grand jury testimony that she had a sexual relationship with the defendant from December 2017 to April 2018 and became engaged in September 2018.
The grand jury testimony also revealed that she knew “Tony” to be Murchison and was familiar with his brother, Isaiah, who was convicted in 2023 for his involvement in the mass shooting.
However, the witness failed to identify Murchison in court and did not recognize him in video footage she was shown during her original interview in 2018.
On July 16, the prosecution called on an expert in cellular data history to testify to the phone records that belong to Taylor, Thomas, Michals and what the prosecution alleges to belong to Price.
The records showed the individuals’ phones in the general location of the shooting at the time of the incident.
The expert testified that, according to the records, Price was in the same general area as the convicted defendants in the days leading up to Wilson’s murder, but that he was unable to provide an exact location.
Parties are slated to return July 24.