Witness Who Resided At Defendant’s Residence Testifies During Murder Trial

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During a Nov. 9 proceeding of a homicide trial the prosecution called their first witness.

James Mayfield, 23, and Robert Moses, 23, are charged with first-degree murder while armed, assault with the intent to kill, conspiracy, and aggravated assault while armed as well as other charges in connection to the murder of 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor on Aug. 10, 2017, at the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues NE. This shooting also wounded three bystanders.

The witness testified that she lived with Moses in 2017. She also attended the same high school as Mayfield and said he would protect her when he needed to.

On the day of the shooting, the witness said Mayfield asked her to put a shirt under her stroller and she did. However, she never did anything with the shirt or knew what was done with it afterwards.

When cross-examined by Mayfield’s defense attorney Veronica Holt, who said the witness had a pretty good life before July 12, 2017, when Moses’ residence was raided by police.

According to Holt, there were two guns found in the basement where Phillip McDaniel, an accomplice who was arrested and charged in 2017 for his involvement in Sydnor’s murder, stayed. The witness was also put into handcuffs and taken outside during the raid.

The witness eventually moved out of Moses’ residence because she was scared but said nobody threatened her or told her to move out.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan scheduled the trial to resume on Nov. 10.

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