Opinion ID: 2654926
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Testimony of Byron Holmes

Text: 1 In violation of former D.C. Code § 22-1805a (2001) and D.C. Code § 222101 (2012 Repl.). 2 In violation of former D.C. Code § 22-4504 (a) (2001). Appellant English was convicted under subsection (a)(2) of committing the offense after previously having been convicted of a felony (for which enhanced punishment is authorized). 4 Byron Holmes was the government‘s crucial witness. He testified that he knew appellants from the 17th Street S.E. neighborhood where he grew up and had been friends with them for several years before Anthony Knight‘s murder. Knight was not from their neighborhood, but they all knew him. He was a member of a 37th Street crowd that they often encountered at the Tradewinds Club, a nightclub in Maryland. There was, Holmes explained, a history of hostility between the two neighborhoods. On a recent visit to Tradewinds, 37th Streeters had given Holmes and appellants ―jealous looks‖; on another occasion, appellant Daniels had told Holmes, they had watched Daniels and followed him around the club. On the evening of January 4, 2006, Holmes and Daniels decided to go to a concert at the Tradewinds Club. They drove to the club in Holmes‘s Chevy Tahoe. Holmes took a Bryco Arms 9mm semiautomatic pistol with him ―for protection.‖ At Tradewinds they met up with appellants Gilliam and English, who had driven there in Daniels‘s green Cadillac. Knight and some of his 37th Street friends were present at the club as well. Holmes noticed Knight and Daniels ―mugging‖ or exchanging ―funny‖ looks. When the club closed at around 2 a.m., everyone left. Knight departed in a gold-colored Cadillac. Gilliam went with Daniels in the latter‘s car while English 5 left with Holmes. Holmes gave his handgun to English, who commented disparagingly on Knight‘s ―mugging.‖ As the two vehicles in which appellants and Holmes were riding came to the intersection of Branch Avenue and Silver Hill Road in Maryland, Holmes heard gunshots and felt something bump the rear of his SUV. Yelling ―that‘s them,‖ English jumped out with Holmes‘s gun in his hand. Holmes heard more gunshots and saw Daniels‘s car pursuing an ―eggshellcolored‖ Cadillac down Silver Hill Road, with English chasing them on foot. The Cadillac was not the one Knight had driven off in, but it was the same color, and appellants allegedly mistook it for Knight‘s vehicle. Holmes, who had stopped his SUV and remained inside it, soon lost sight of Daniels‘s car. After the shooting ended, Holmes went to pick up English on Silver Hill Road. English, who had shot at the fleeing Cadillac with Holmes‘s gun, allegedly directed Holmes to take him home so he could retrieve his own firearm.3 Holmes testified that as he arrived at English‘s house at 18th and A Streets, S.E., he received a call on his cell phone from Daniels. Daniels wanted to know 3 The shootings in Maryland were not charged as separate counts in appellants‘ indictments, but they were included among the overt acts listed in the conspiracy count. 6 where Holmes and English were so that he and Gilliam could rejoin them. Holmes claimed he told Daniels they were in the alley behind 18th and A. When Daniels drove up a few minutes later, Holmes saw that the front of Daniels‘s car was damaged. Daniels explained that he accidentally had rammed the back of Holmes‘s Tahoe when ―they were shooting.‖ English, accompanied by Gilliam, went into his backyard and returned carrying a book bag. Daniels retrieved two boxes of ammunition from his car and appellants piled into Holmes‘s Tahoe. All four men were armed: Holmes had his Bryco 9mm pistol, Daniels had a .40 or .45 caliber handgun, and English withdrew a MAC-10 semiautomatic handgun from his book bag for himself and a gun for Gilliam. Holmes could not see the gun Gilliam received from English, but he heard Gilliam cock and load it. Holmes drove the three men to 37th Street. At the intersection of 37th and Ely Streets, he observed a gold-colored Cadillac stopped in the street near a pickup truck. A few people were standing next to the two vehicles. Anthony Knight was one of them. At that point, English said ―[t]hat was them‖ and began firing out the window. English then jumped out, followed by Daniels and Gilliam, while Holmes remained sitting at the wheel of his SUV awaiting their return. Holmes heard more shooting. The gold Cadillac started to drive away and Holmes fired at 7 it. When the shooting ceased, he looked back and saw Gilliam and English kneeling down and Daniels standing near them. Appellants then got back into his SUV and told Holmes to ―go, go, go, go.‖ Holmes drove back to 18th and A Streets. On the way, he saw English and Daniels reload their guns and heard Gilliam do the same with his. In the alley behind English‘s house, before the four men split up, they cleaned out the Tahoe. English told Holmes that he and Knight had exchanged gunfire, and that when he ran out of bullets after wounding Knight, Daniels and Gilliam were ―right there to finish him off.‖4 Later that day, Holmes met again with English and Daniels. Daniels said he had lost his ID and asked whether Holmes had seen it; Holmes had not. Holmes was arrested in November 2006. When questioned by detectives, he initially denied any involvement in Knight‘s murder, but under further interrogation Holmes eventually confessed and implicated appellants. Holmes also showed the police where he had hidden his gun (the Bryco) and they recovered it. He subsequently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to murder 4 The trial court ruled English‘s statement to Holmes admissible against his co-defendants under the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule. 8 and agreed to testify against appellants. Holmes was awaiting his sentencing when he took the stand at appellants‘ trial.