Witness Testifies Against Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Murder

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 17, 2018
Court | Homicides | Suspects |

During a 2016 murder trial, the defendant’s ex-girlfriend told the jury Gabriel Carlos Turner’s death was a robbery gone wrong.

Kelby Gordon is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Turner, 46, on the 2600 Block of Birney Place, SE. According to the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Turner suffered from a gunshot wound to the back, which ultimately resulted in a brain injury.

On July 12, the girlfriend said that Gordon, 32, told her that he saw someone with money and wanted to rob him.  Gordon allegedly told her he saw the man he was robbing reach for a gun. As a result, Gordon ” didn’t give him a chance,  he just started shooting,” the girlfriend said.

According to the prosecution, several weeks after the shooting, the Metropolitan Police Department searched the girlfriend’s home, where they found unregistered ammunition. Police also found a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson gun box and a handgun magazine.

Even though casing from the crime scene indicates that the murder weapon was a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson gun, it is unclear if the ammunition found in the girlfriend’s apartment matches the cases found on the scene.  

According to defense attorney Richard Holliday, the girlfriend didn’t want her brother or father to be charged and therefore the police used the ammunition charge to scare her into testifying against Gordon. 

The defense said the girlfriend also testified because the detective, who questioned her about the shooting, told her she could relocate if she felt unsafe testifying against Gordon.

The girlfriend told the jury that she wanted to relocate before she spoke to the police, but she couldn’t afford to do so.