‘You’re Making Me Feel Like a Criminal,’ Victim Yells at Prosecutor

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

During a Nov. 14 jury trial, prosecutors presented clothing worn by a co-defendant to the jury, and a witness requested to end his testimony in a 2017 murder case.

On Aug. 10, 2017, Robert Moses, 23 and James Mayfield, 22, approached the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues, NE while armed with .40 and .45 caliber handguns. Collectively, the defendants fired over ten rounds at people standing on Saratoga Avenue. One of the bullets struck 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor in the head as she was driving, killing her.

Three other bystanders were also struck and injured by stray bullets.

Moses, 23, was arrested on Aug. 10, 2017, while Mayfield, 22, was arrested on Dec. 28, 2017. They are charged with more than a dozen counts each, including first-degree murder while armed, assault with the intent to kill and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

A man who was injured during the Aug. 10 shootings said, when he heard gunshots near the Montana and Saratoga Avenue intersection, he promptly jumped out of his wheelchair. His leg then gave out, causing him to fracture his right hip and leg.

The man was already partly paralyzed and rendered wheelchair-bound from having been previously shot in his back.

The witness recalled that when he fell, he “felt a bone break… a sharp, shooting pain running up and down my leg… starting from my hip going all the way down.” He added that because he was in a state of shock and panic from his injury, he couldn’t see any shooters, nor any other victims, nor anyone else running around.

The prosecutor asked the witness a series of questions to discern his state at the time, then played recordings of initial Grand Jury testimony from 2017 for reference.

The witness recalled that during his testimony, he was “just trying to go” and “never wanted to be there.” To expedite the process, he admitted to tailoring some responses so there would be fewer follow-up questions. He denied being under the influence of any substances at the time, but later clarified that “of course he was using drugs.”

The witness, who has a prior criminal record, said he was under the impression that the only answers that mattered were those directly relevant to the homicide case at hand, never expecting that “anything could be used against him.”

When the prosecutor began asking him questions about his initial call to 911 in order to verify select details, he refused to answer, yelling “now you’re making me feel like a criminal. I ain’t answering any more of your questions.”

The witness was excused to consult with his lawyer regarding how to proceed.

The prosecution also called a custodian of records with experience reviewing and authenticating stored data records for Instagram and Facebook accounts.

After being shown records from an Instagram account, the witness identified that the account’s username had been changed at least five times between September and October 2017 but never by the account’s actual owner.

The witness also noted that the account owner never verified the account with their listed phone number.

The prosecution also called a member of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau and showed surveillance footage of Mayfield directly following his arrest in December 2017.

The footage highlighted Mayfield’s slim physique. Prosecutors further emphasized this by displaying to jurors the child’s-sized black shirt Mayfield wore in the video.

DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan scheduled the trial to continue on Nov. 15.

Follow this case