Prosecutor Alleges Trial Witness Was Slain by Defendant's Brother

A witness who was prepared to testify against the man accused in the 2006 slaying of a well-known music engineer in Prince George's County was killed shortly before the trial by the defendant's brother, prosecutors allege in court papers filed in recent days.

Although the brother has not been charged, county prosecutors are seeking to introduce what they call "clear and convincing evidence" linking defendant Jamaal G. Alexis to the killing of the witness in October.

According to the prosecution filings, Alexis told a jailhouse informant that his brother and another man killed witness Bobby J. Ennels, an alleged accomplice in the 2006 slaying who had pleaded guilty and was cooperating with prosecutors. Alexis also admitted shooting the music engineer, Raymond Brown, according to the prosecution papers.

Alexis is jailed awaiting trial. A woman who answered the phone at the Alexis home declined to comment.

Ross D. Hecht, an attorney representing Alexis, said his client is innocent and disputed the prosecution's claims about the killing of Ennels.

"We don't believe that happened," he said. "If the authorities had probable cause, they would have brought charges, which they have not done."

According to papers filed by Assistant State's Attorney Wesley Adams, inmate Amadu S. Jalloh said Jamaal Alexis told him three days after Ennels was slain that his brother, Rashadd Alexis, had "got rid of the [expletive]," according to the court filing. Jamaal Alexis told Jalloh that his brother "did what he was supposed to do," Adams wrote.

Jalloh is charged with attempted first-degree murder in connection with an alleged attack on a Maryland state trooper during an escape attempt from Laurel Regional Hospital.

In addition, Adams wrote, Rashadd Alexis was pulled over for speeding on Oct. 7, 2008, at a location less than two miles from the scene in Landover where Ennels had been shot less than 20 minutes earlier. Rashadd Alexis had a small amount of blood on his shirt and was "traveling at a high rate of speed away from the murder scene," according to the court filing.

Rashadd Alexis, 20, told officers he had been involved in a fight on a basketball court, according to the filing. He was allowed to go.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Oct. 7, Ennels, 22, was fatally shot as he sat in the driver's seat of a car in a residential area. Another man who was in the car, Anthony Cash, 22, was also fatally shot. Authorities said both men were from Capitol Heights.

A woman who was in the car was wounded but survived. No one has been charged.

The killings occurred less than a month before Jamaal Alexis, 22, was scheduled to go on trial for killing Brown, 34, who was known as Scottie Beats.

In October 2006, Brown was fatally shot when he confronted three men who were using a tow truck to steal his Chrysler 300, according to court records.

Jamaal Alexis is accused of shooting Brown. Prosecutors allege that Ennels served as a lookout; he had pleaded guilty to theft and agreed to testify against Alexis. The third co-defendant, Neiman Marcus Edmonds, 21, has pleaded guilty to theft over $500 and, in an unrelated case, a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit carjacking. Edmonds has also agreed to testify against Jamaal Alexis as part of a plea deal.

Yesterday, Circuit Court Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. granted a prosecution motion to prohibit Jamaal Alexis's lead defense attorney, Harry Tun, from representing Alexis. Assistant State's Attorney Dorothy Engel argued that Tun had a conflict because he recently represented Jalloh; Nichols agreed.

The trial, which was scheduled to begin Monday, has been rescheduled for Aug. 24.