Teen suspects in brutal death of 64-year-old DC man appear in court ahead of trial
WASHINGTON - Two teen suspects arrested in connection to the beating death of a D.C. man last fall appeared in court Tuesday, ahead of a scheduled trial this week.
Motions were heard over whether identification by some witnesses should be suppressed, but most of the hearing was centered around statements from one of the 13-year-old suspects made to investigators last year.
Investigators say Reggie Brown, 64, died after he was punched and kicked as he was walking home in 2023.
The incident happened on Georgia Avenue, and he was left lying on his back with multiple lacerations and contusions. His pants were pulled off, and his shoes were removed, according to evidence released so far.
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A medical examiner previously confirmed that Brown died from blunt force trauma.
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An attorney for the 13-year-old made the argument that 5th amendment rights were violated, as investigators asked leading questions that would have led to incriminating evidence. Attorneys made the argument that there was a certain element of threats made, as investigators said there was a choice of being a "snitch" or "inmate" at play.
"Nobody wants to go to prison," the attorney said in court.
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However, prosecutors said there was no coercion.
At the time, the teenager was not a suspect but was a witness.
Prosecutors said there was no indication she was arrested at the time and added that she was the one who brought up certain information to detectives first.
The information was not yet revealed to be known by detectives at that point, according to the government.
"They treated her like a witness. That’s what she was at the time," a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Trial begins for 3 girls accused of killing 64-year-old Reggie Brown
A decision was not made on Tuesday.
Court resumes on Wednesday, with trial on the second-degree murder charges expected on Thursday.