Opinion ID: 2074284
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The murder of Deyon Rivers.

Text: The prosecution's theory at trial was that Andrews and Mack shot and killed the decedent, Deyon Rivers, in Rivers' car near the corner of 18th and C Streets, N.E. at approximately 2:25 a.m. on July 7, 2000. The shooting occurred in the wake of an altercation on the previous day between Rivers and David Braddy, who was a friend of both Andrews and Mack. Braddy had complained to Andrews and Mack that Rivers, who did not live in the neighborhood, but who was apparently keeping company with a young woman who did, had shot bottle rockets, [6] one of which had almost hit Braddy's girlfriend. Braddy was angry about the incident, [7] but his girlfriend told him to leave it alone, and the altercation ended without immediate violence. At the time of the confrontation between Rivers and Braddy, the latter was in the company of Morris Jones, then fifteen years old. Jones, who suffered from a learning disability as well as low intellectual functioning and substance abuse, was a principal prosecution witness at the trial. He testified that at the time of the murder, he was on a home visit from a Pennsylvania institution for juvenile delinquents to which he had been committed following his involvement in several armed robberies. According to Jones, he and Braddy spoke with Andrews and Mack shortly after Braddy's encounter with Rivers, and Braddy told the two defendants what had occurred. Jones did not assert, however, that Braddy asked Andrews or Mack to harm Rivers. Later in the evening, well after midnight, Jones and Braddy were sitting on the porch of Braddy's home, drinking and smoking marijuana. Jones acknowledged that while the two young men were engaged in this activity, he had consumed four or five cups of liquor and had shared a dime bag of marijuana with Braddy. According to Jones, Braddy received a telephone call and went into the house, leaving Jones alone on the porch. After Braddy's departure, Jones saw a car pull up to the corner of 18th and C Streets. He recognized the driver as the individual who had fired the bottle rocket near Braddy's girlfriend. At this point, according to Jones, Andrews and Mack, each of whom he knew well, came out of an alley and fired handguns multiple times into the vehicle. Jones further testified that he and Braddy encountered Andrews on the following day and inquired about the events of the previous night. Andrews told them that he had seen a suspicious car coming down the street, that he had become paranoid or something like that, and that he had shot at the car. Jones did not report the shooting to the police, but investigating officers apparently learned that he may have been a witness. On August 22, 2000, while Jones was on another home visit from the juvenile institution in Pennsylvania, the police brought him to the United States Attorney's Office for questioning. By this time, Andrews and Mack were the prime suspects, for the police had recovered the two pistols with which the decedent had been shot to death, and each weapon had been in the possession of one of the two defendants. Jones initially told the police that he knew nothing about the shooting, but after being questioned for approximately three hours, Jones identified Andrews and Mack as the shooters. He was immediately taken before the grand jury, where he repeated his identification of the defendants. A second prosecution witness, Courtney Burley, was also a juvenile with a history of delinquency. Burley testified that on the night of the shooting, he saw Mack in a concealed position in an alley near 23rd and C Streets, N.E. Burley approached Mack, who told him that it was about to get hot out there because of some gangster shit. Despite this warning of impending violence and danger, and although he lived only a short distance away, Burley called his brother to come and pick him up. His brother arrived approximately fifteen minutes later, and as they drove away, Burley heard the sound of shooting. On the following day, Burley encountered Mack again in front of a store. In response to Burley's inquiry regarding what had occurred the previous night, Mack allegedly stated that he had been shooting. Burley provided this information to the police on August 12, 2000, after he had been arrested on a custody order for violation of the conditions of his probation. He originally denied, but subsequently admitted, that he hoped to receive lenient treatment in return for his cooperation. Burley was also impeached, inter alia, with statements he made to the police to the effect that the fireworks incident occurred several days before the shooting. Andrews presented alibi evidence, principally from his former girlfriend. [8] Mack presented the testimony of James Braddy, David Braddy's father. According to James Braddy, he, his wife, and his son were inside the house watching television for a couple of hours prior to the shooting. When he heard shots, James Braddy went to the porch to investigate, and Morris Jones was not there. Indeed, Mr. Braddy had not seen Jones anywhere, either that night or on the previous day. Mr. Braddy confirmed that his son had been involved in an incident relating to fireworks.