Driver Won't ID Gunmen In Slaying Near School

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 28, 2008

The state's key witness in the trial of a man charged in the January slaying of an 18-year-old student in Prince George's County testified yesterday that he did not remember who fired during the drive-by shooting, disavowing earlier sworn statements that implicated two of his friends.

Marcus A. Reynolds, who was charged in the killing and testified in exchange for leniency, answered "I don't remember" or "I don't recall" at least six times under questioning by a prosecutor. Reynolds, 19, of Lanham, testified on the first day of the trial of one of those friends, Terrance R. Martin.

Martin, 18, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Cherrese Richardson as she walked home from Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale.

Assistant State's Attorney William D. Moomau confronted Reynolds with transcripts of his grand jury testimony. Reynolds testified yesterday that even when he appeared in January before the grand jury, where he identified his friends as the gunmen, he did not know who fired the shots.

"I've always had the lack of memory," Reynolds said in court.

Richardson was killed by a shot to the head. A 17-year-old friend of hers, Sonja Bangura, was wounded, as was Carlos Herrera, a contractor who happened to be driving nearby. Bangura's and Herrera's injuries were not life-threatening.

Two days after the shootings, Reynolds, Martin and the other friend, Jeffrey D. Boddie, were arrested and charged with murder. Boddie, 18, is to be tried next month.

Martin's defense attorney, James N. Papirmeister, said in his opening statement yesterday that Reynolds provided at least four accounts of the incident during hours of questioning by a homicide detective.

Later, at the county jail, Reynolds asked his mother to summon the detective, Robert Turner. Reynolds acknowledged on direct examination that he gave Turner a statement implicating Martin and Boddie.

Papirmeister attacked Reynolds's credibility, promising in his opening statement that Reynolds "will be shown to be a complete liar" who would have said anything to avoid being prosecuted for Richardson's murder. Papirmeister acknowledged that Martin fired a gun but said he fired into the air, not into the crowd of students and others in which Richardson was standing.

In an agreement with prosecutors, Reynolds pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact, a felony offense that carries a maximum five-year prison term, in exchange for his testifying against Martin, who is known as "T-Mar," and Boddie, who is known as "J.D." Papirmeister derided the plea agreement as "the deal of the century" for Reynolds.

Reynolds took the witness stand in mid-afternoon, sitting about 10 feet from Martin, his friend of more than a decade.

Reynolds testified that on the day of the shootings, he and other friends went to the high school to pick up a female friend of Martin's and drive her home. He drove a gold Nissan Altima, and other friends were in a blue Buick, Reynolds said.

After dropping the girl at her home, Reynolds testified, he and his friends stopped for food and then returned to the high school. Martin was sitting directly behind him in the Altima, and Boddie was a passenger in the Buick, Reynolds said.

The Buick was ahead, and its driver pulled a U-turn in front of the school, Reynolds testified. He followed, he said.

"That's when shots were fired," Reynolds testified. "All of a sudden, I just heard gunshots. I kept driving."

Reynolds said some of the shots were fired from the back seat of the car he was driving. When Moomau asked which rear passenger seat the shots came from, Reynolds said, "I don't remember."

Moomau showed Reynolds a copy of his police statement, reading aloud: "Question: 'Did T-Mar shoot from the back seat?' 'Yes.' "

Moomau asked Reynolds whether someone else shot from the blue Buick. "I don't know," Reynolds replied.

It was unclear from the testimony who else, if anyone, was in the Altima.

Moomau retrieved a copy of Reynolds's grand jury testimony and asked the witness to read parts of it.

"Was your memory intact when you testified in front of the grand jury?"

"No," Reynolds replied.