Witnesses Struggle to Recall Previous Testimony in Shooting Trial

By - August 22, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting |

Before DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein, on Aug. 21 witnesses struggled to recall testimony previously presented to the grand jury and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), about a car accident that followed a shooting. 

Marquez Beasley, 32, is charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting incident injuring three victims, on Aug. 16, 2023, on the 900 block of Division Avenue, NE.

According to court documents, the shooting occurred after a car crash. During a dispute, Beasly allegedly hit one victim with the bottom of his gun, and subsequently fired multiple gun shots that injured two victims and one bystander.

The prosecution called their witness, who was the driver of one of the vehicles involved in the accident. The witness was an assistant manager for a Papa Johns restaurant who was delivering pizzas and driving two family friends home. 

The witness said he didn’t have a driver’s license and the vehicle was registered to his “mother-like” figure who also worked for Papa John and was the mother of the two other individuals in the car. 

The witness said he had made a right turn, and a car hit his vehicle from behind as he turned onto Sheriff Road. He pulled over to check for damage, and the defendant got out of the car and demanded proof of insurance. 

The witness said he explained that he didn’t own the car, and asked one of his friends to call their mother for documentation. A few seconds later, Beasley allegedly swung at the witness, missing the first two times. 

The witness then said, Beasley pulled a “black handgun” and hit the witness with the bottom of the weapon cutting his forehead. Subsequently, a shot was fired into the ground, and then towards the victims.

The witness said he remembers his friend who was in the backseat being shot, while he fled the scene. However, he said he was unable to recall where the gun was retrieved, and who handed the phone to the defendant at the crash scene.

Later when presented a photo array by the MPD, although unsure, he was allegedly able to identify Beasley as the shooter. 

During cross examination, defense attorney John Machado reaffirmed that the witness didn’t have his license, yet worked as a driver for Papa Johns. Machado also played video surveillance footage of the accident, revealing that the witness made an illegal right turn. 

The prosecution called the mother of the two other victims in the car. 

She said her nephew had been the one driving, and received a call from her son, telling her about the accident.  Later both of her children identified Beasley, their next door neighbor, as the shooter. 

The witness told detectives that she recognized the suspect on a FaceTime call as a local rapper she followed on Instagram as “big_foams.” She stated that she had only had a few short interactions with the suspect.

The prosecution also called the victim in the front passenger seat who didn’t remember any details of the accident or the model of the suspect’s car. The witness recalled the driver’s leaving the car, and her brother, in the backseat, and calling their mother after the accident.

As she turned her back, she recalled only hearing the phone on the ground. However, the prosecution replayed surveillance footage for the jury, and identified the witness running after multiple gunshots.

She claimed she was drunk during the police interviews and the photo array identification procedure in which she identified Beasley as the suspect. 

During the cross examination, Macado suggested that the detectives were leading her to pick a suspect, regardless of her uncertainty. 

The witness said she identified  a tattoo on the suspect’s head, which Beasley didn’t have.

The next witness was a male who was sitting in the backseat during the accident. He was also shot during the altercation. The witness said he had been drinking and was smoking weed, reportedly “in and out” of sleep at the time. He admitted to being too drunk to remember the crash. He said he only heard loud music from a block party. 

The witness testified to hearing one gunshot and running away. However, during his previous grand jury testimony, he stated that he had heard multiple shots. 

The last witness the prosecution called was a bystander a shooting victim. She was on her way to a convenience store on Division Avenue and was shot in her leg. She was unable to get up and saw a black vehicle driving down the street with shots being fired out the open window but couldn’t identify the shooter.

The trial is continuing.