Witness Testifies About Two Vehicles Linked to Triple Homicide, Mass Shooting

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An analyst testified about what she did and didn’t find in two vehicles prosecutors say are linked to a mass shooting involving six-codefendants. The evidence was presented before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on May 12.

Erwin Dubose, 31, Kamar Queen, 28, Damonta Thompson, 28, and William Johnson-Lee, 22, are charged with conspiracy, premeditated first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, among other charges, for their alleged involvement in the mass shooting that killed 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson, 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner. The incident occurred on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW on Sept. 4, 2021, and injured three additional individuals.

Mussay Rezene, 32, and Toyia Johnson, 53, are charged with accessory after the fact while armed and tampering with physical evidence for their alleged involvement in assisting the other defendants discard evidence and avoid arrests.

According to the prosecution, the defendants committed the mass shooting as retaliation for another shooting, which occurred two hours earlier, during which Queen and a group of friends were allegedly targeted, with one individual injured. The shooting occurred at Queen’s godmother’s house on the 800 block of Oglethorpe Road, NE.

The prosecution called a former forensic scientist with the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) who testified that she processed two vehicles connected to the incident. The first vehicle, a black Honda Accord, prosecutors claim Johnson rented and Thompson drove as the getaway driver during the shooting. Prosecutors allege the second vehicle, a gray Nissan Maxima, connects Rezene to burning the Honda in an alleyway to destroy evidence.

The forensic scientist said she collected latent fingerprints in the Nissan from two windows and plastic water bottles, in addition to DNA swabs from a charging cord. Prosecutors displayed a photo of a black balaclava, or ski mask, the witness said she located on the floor of the Nissan.

Regarding the Honda, the witness said she was asked to search for firearms evidence, but discovered none.

Johnson-Lee’s attorney, Peter Fayne, questioned the witness’ handling of the Honda and pointed out an error in her report, the processing date listed incorrectly on one page.

Fayne also asked the witness why she only searched for firearms evidence in the Honda when the search warrant she received said to collect various types of evidence. She responded that a detective informed her they were only looking for firearms evidence so she did not perform the other examinations.

Another former DFS forensic scientist testified that on Sept. 9, 2021 he recovered a bullet from a window-frame at the scene and sent it back to the office as evidence.

Queen’s godmother resumed her testimony with cross-examination from Queen’s attorney, Brian McDaniel. McDaniel showed the witness Ring camera footage from the front porch of her house on Oglethorpe of Queen and his friends the day of the shooting. McDaniel pointed out that Queen and one of his friends looked similar and both wore jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black headpiece.

McDaniel alleged that prosecutors showed Queen’s godmother photos, said “This is Kamar,” and subsequently asked her to identify him in videos the photos were taken from. During redirect questioning, prosecutors read the witness’ grand jury transcript in which she identified Queen in video footage before she was shown a photo. Queen’s godmother confirmed she identified Queen from her own personal knowledge, not influenced by prosecutors.

The trial is scheduled to resume on May 13.