Man Convicted in Student's Death
18-Year-Old Walking Home Was Caught in Drive-By Shooting

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 6, 2008

Terrance R. Martin, 18, was convicted last night of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting in January of an 18-year-old girl who was walking home from a Prince George's County high school.

A jury delivered the verdict at 10:30 p.m. It also found Martin guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the Jan. 8 drive-by shooting that killed Cherrese Richardson, 18, a student at Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale. Martin had been charged with first-degree murder.

The fatal shooting stemmed from a feud between two groups of teenagers from nearby neighborhoods, Prince George's prosecutors said during closing arguments yesterday in the trial.

Another student and a man who was driving in the area were hit by bullets and suffered non-life-threatening wounds.

Prosecutors said a key witness's sudden failure to recall details of the shooting indicated that he remains loyal to his group and didn't want to be labeled a "snitch." He is a former defendant who testified for the state in exchange for leniency.

In his closing argument, an attorney for Martin conceded that Martin fired a gun -- in self-defense, the attorney said -- but that he did not hit anyone.

Deliberations began yesterday.

Assistant State's Attorney Michael Pearson said Martin and another gunman fired 11 shots from two moving cars into a crowd of students gathered near the school.

"This wasn't haphazard," Pearson told jurors. "This was organized. Do you think it was a coincidence that there was one gun in one car and one gun in the other car?"

Defense attorney James N. Papirmeister said Martin fired into the air because he was afraid he and his friends were being attacked by the other group of teens, who were from the Ardmore neighborhood.

Prosecutors alleged that the shootings stemmed from a feud between the Ardmore group and one from the Glenarden neighborhood. During the trial, no evidence was presented to show that Richardson or the girl who was wounded, Sonja Bangura, were part of either group.

Citing eyewitness testimony, Pearson said Martin fired from behind the driver of a gold Nissan Altima. Other shots were fired from the back of a blue Buick sedan traveling ahead of the Nissan, he said.

The shooting occurred after a friend of Martin's, a girl who attends Flowers, called Martin asking for a ride home, Pearson said. The girl said she and her friends were being harassed by teenagers from the Ardmore group, Pearson said.

Martin and several friends arrived in the two vehicles and picked up the girl and one or two other friends from near the school, according to court testimony. Martin and his friends exchanged hard looks and angry words with members of the Ardmore group, Pearson said. After dropping off the girl and the other friends, Martin and his friends piled into the cars and returned for payback, firing into a crowd, prosecutors said.

Assistant State's Attorney William D. Moomau dismissed Papirmeister's self-defense argument, saying there was no evidence anyone was firing at Martin and his friends. Picking up the girl who asked for a ride was a "rescue call," Moomau said. Returning with guns, Martin and his friends "wanted to act like enforcers, like gangsters," he said.

Last week, Marcus A. Reynolds, a longtime friend of Martin's, testified for the state that he was driving the Nissan. Under direct examination, Reynolds said he could not recall telling a police detective and a grand jury that Martin and another friend, Jeffrey D. Boddie, 18, were the gunmen. Reynolds, 19, said he could not even recall what was discussed when he met with Moomau and Pearson just 48 hours earlier.

In his closing statement, Pearson said Reynolds told Robert Turner, a homicide detective, that Martin fired from the rear passenger seat, on the driver's side. He said Reynolds told Turner that another friend was also in the back seat.

Reynolds, who was initially charged with murder, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact, punishable by up to five years in prison in exchange for his cooperation. It was not clear whether his testimony jeopardized that plea deal.

Boddie is to go on trial later this year.