Testimony of Slain Witness Can Be Used in 2006 Murder Case

A Prince George's County judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors can use the grand jury testimony of a slain witness in a high-profile murder case.

Circuit Court Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. said county prosecutors have shown "clear and convincing" evidence that the defendant -- Jamaal Alexis -- is responsible for the unavailability of the witness, Bobby J. Ennels. Ennels, 22, was fatally shot Oct. 7.

Ennels would have been a key state witness against Alexis, who is charged in the October 2006 slaying of Raymond Brown, 34, a music engineer who was known as Scottie Beats.

During a pretrial hearing that began Tuesday, prosecutors presented evidence that Alexis, 22, conspired with his brother, Rashadd Alexis, 20, to kill Ennels to prevent him from testifying in the Brown case. Last week, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey obtained indictments charging the two brothers with conspiring to kill Ennels. Rashadd Alexis is charged separately with killing Ennels and Anthony Cash, 22, who was shot with Ennels.

"It would appear that this was a cold, calculated attempt to silence a witness in a murder case," Nichols said as he announced his ruling. "The obvious beneficiary of the Bobby Ennels murder was Jamaal Alexis."

The Sixth Amendment provides defendants the right to cross-examine witnesses against them. In 2005, the Maryland legislature passed a law allowing prosecutors to introduce into evidence the grand jury testimony of a slain witness if the state can show "clear and convincing evidence" that the defendant is responsible for the witness being unavailable -- by having him killed, for example. This is the first time Prince George's prosecutors are using that law.

During the hearing, prosecutors presented evidence showing that the two brothers conspired to target Ennels for death. An inmate, Amadu S. Jalloh, testified that Jamaal Alexis spoke of killing a witness against him eight months before Ennels was killed, a threat Jalloh reported to a county prosecutor. Police and prosecutors said they had warned Ennels to stay away from his usual haunts in the Landover and Capitol Heights areas.

Jalloh also testified that after Ennels was killed, Jamaal Alexis said his brother had done "what he was supposed to do."

In addition, Jessica Charack, a senior DNA analyst with the county police, testified that a skullcap found near the scene of the Ennels and Cash slayings contained DNA that matched the DNA profile of Rashadd Alexis. In his closing argument, Assistant State's Attorney Wesley Adams said the odds that the DNA on the skullcap was not left by Rashadd Alexis are one in 34.4 quadrillion.

Jamaal Alexis was scheduled to go on trial in the Brown killing Aug. 24.

Ennels was originally charged with murder in Brown's death. A month before he was killed, Ennels pleaded guilty to lesser charges of theft and conspiracy to commit theft and as part of his plea deal agreed to testify against Jamaal Alexis. Prosecutors say they think that Ennels acted as a lookout when he, Jamaal Alexis and another man stole Brown's Chrysler 300 with a tow truck. The third codefendant, Neiman Marcus Edmonds, 22, known as "Nemo," has pleaded guilty to theft charges and agreed to testify against Jamaal Alexis in the Brown slaying.