Prosecutors Attempt To Link Prior Shootings To Homicide During Trial

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A homicide trial resumed on June 13 with the prosecutors calling four witnesses in an attempt to link the defendants to other shootings.

Co-defendants Saquan Williams, 20, and Quincy Garvin, 22, are charged with, first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm, conspiracy and criminal street gang affiliation in connection to allegedly shooting 24-year-old Carl Hardy on the 1200 block of I Street, SE, on Sept. 10, 2017.

In the prosecutor’s attempt to connect the defendants to other shootings, the prosecution’s first witness Monday was shot in the leg during an incident, that allegedly involved gang activity, on July 9, 2017. The witness said he was shot in the back of his gray Honda on his way home from a social club.

Police searched the witness’s car, finding a firearm and charged him with carrying an illegal firearm. However, the charges were later dropped because it wasn’t his firearm although the gun was in his vehicle.

The prosecutor then called a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department who was assigned to investigate a separate shooting that occurred at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th Street, NW, on May 1, 2017.

The suspects of the May 1, 2017, shooting were reportedly driving a gray Nissan sedan. Surveillance video captured the suspects, in the gray Nissan, making a three-point turn near the intersection on the day of the shooting.

The detective said he found a Zipcar, a rented vehicle, matching the description of the gray Nissan on V Street, SE. The detective also obtained phone records of the person who rented the car. Records show numerous calls from one number. The same number connected to one of the defendants.

William’s defense attorney, Kyle McGonigal, asked the detective about a gold van that was seen driving away from the scene on one of the surveillance videos the detective reviewed. The detective testified that there were no reports that anyone was shooting from the gold van.

In response to the detective’s testimony, McGonigal mentioned two of the detective’s prior cases. In one of the cases, a judge declared the detective’s testimony as not credible, and, in the other, the case was dismissed because the detective misplaced evidence.

However, the prosecutor emphasized that the evidence that was misplaced was a note that was illegible.

The prosecution called another detective from the homicide branch to identify the individuals who frequented the Wellington Park area, specifically the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road, SE.

An investigator with the Criminal Intelligence Unit of the MPD was called to testify last. The investigator matched Instagram usernames to the real names of the users, which included Garvin. The witness also testified that “DF” is used as a vanity name to identify people associated with Wellington Park.

The prosecutor also showed the investigator clips of an Instagram live video feed from Oct. 4, 2017. Firearms, that could not be matched to any specific incident, were shown in the video.

During cross-examination, Garvin’s defense attorney Steven Kirsch emphasized that the investigator is not a firearms expert and the firearms shown were in no way unique.

The trial was scheduled to resume on June 14.

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