Opinion ID: 2070715
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The evidence at the trial.[5]

Text: Kenneth Curtis was the prosecution's star witness. He testified that on October 13, 1990, Peyton and Jackson were in a blue BMW near the intersection of East Capitol Street and Benning Road, near Texas Avenue. Curtis was behind them in another vehicle. Observing a man on the street, Jackson rolled up his window and asked Curtis: Ain't that the dude that killed Ced? [6] Curtis answered Naw, but Jackson insisted that [i]t is that motherfucker. Curtis testified that I slowed up and came to the light and the next thing I know, I seen Darrell Jackson and Dwayne Peyton shooting the man down. Curtis also testified that, some time prior to the shooting of Hopkins, he (Curtis) had purchased a number of firearms, including a 9mm Browning pistol and a 9mm Tanfoglio semi-automatic handgun, and that he had provided the Browning to Peyton and the Tanfoglio to Jackson. These weapons, which were apparently used in the fatal shooting of Hopkins, were subsequently recovered from the two defendants. [7] On cross-examination, Curtis was impeached with prior statements to the grand jury and to the police in which he had denied any knowledge of the identities of the murderers. Curtis also admitted that he had previously been convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, several drug offenses, and a firearms offense. Curtis acknowledged that he did not disclose his knowledge of the Hopkins murder to the police until after he had been convicted of the most recent charges against him and faced the possibility of imprisonment for life. Curtis also testified that in return for his cooperation with the government, the prosecutor had requested major sentencing concessions on Curtis' behalf. Curtis was further impeached with alleged inconsistencies in his testimony; he had stated at different times, for example, that he had witnessed the events of October 13, 1990 through his side window, his windshield, and his rear-view mirror. Curtis was the only witness who identified Jackson as one of the shooters. Crystal Walker, who was fifteen years old at the time of the killing, testified that she had seen Peyton, whom she knew, shooting at the decedent. Ms. Walker admitted, however, that she had lied to the police and to the grand jury, and that she had implicated two men other than Peyton and Jackson in the murder, even though she knew that these other men were innocent. [8] Finally, the prosecution presented evidence showing that Peyton had lied to the police regarding the circumstances under which his car came to be at the murder scene, and that he had induced his girlfriend, Sabrina Pannell, to back up his lie. [9] There was also evidence that Jackson lied to the grand jury on the same subject. [10] The government argued that this deceptive conduct on appellants' part reflected consciousness of guilt. Neither defendant testified. Peyton did not present a defense. Jackson called two witnesses, Dwight Sullivan and Sean Hatton. Sullivan testified that he had known Curtis for seven years, and that Curtis had a reputation in the community as a liar. Hatton claimed that, a few days after Hopkins' death, Curtis admitted to Hatton that he (Curtis) had killed the man who shot Cedric Boyd. [11]