Makiyah Wilson (L), a muzzle flash is visible as shooting suspects fire dozens of rounds (Images via NBC Washington screengrabs)
Five Washington, D.C., gang members were convicted of murder and one more found was guilty of conspiracy Tuesday in the 2018 shooting death of Makiyah Wilson, a 10-year-old girl who was eating ice cream on the stoop of her home on a summer night.
According the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, a D.C. Superior Court jury convicted Isaiah Murchison, 23, Darrise Jeffers, 23, Qujuan Thomas, 24, Quentin Michals, 25, and Gregory Taylor, 27, for first-degree murder while armed.
The defendants will also face sentencing in October for armed assault with intent to kill, conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, and for their gang memberships in the "Wellington Park crew." A sixth gang member, 21-year-old Marquell Cobbs, was convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said that the defendants "indiscriminately" fired dozens of bullets in the Clay Terrace courtyard in Northeast D.C. around 8 p.m. on July 16, 2018 as part of ongoing "beefs" between gangs in the neighborhood.
"On July 16, 2018, four men exited a vehicle in the courtyard of an apartment complex and indiscriminately fired over 50 shots at the residents because of a petty social media feud they had with individuals who associated with that community," Graves said. "Their rampage left multiple people shot and a 10-year old child dead. Today's verdicts demonstrate that we will hold accountable both the shooters in these brazen attacks and the people who help them."
The government alleged that Murchison, Taylor, Thomas, and two others fired "more than 50 shots," hitting Wilson in the heart and killing her as she sat on the front stoop of her home. Four others, including Wilson's older sister, were wounded. Michals and Jeffers were accused of supplying the guns and the black vehicle that the suspects used to drive to and from the crime scene.
Grainy video footage of the shooting showed armed suspects in masks emerging from that vehicle and opening fire into a crowd of people.
Lewis was Makiyah's older sister. Makiyah was sitting between her legs when the shooting happened. Four masked men jumped out of a black car and fired more than 70 gunshots into the crowd of people. @wusa9 #GetUpDC #wusa9originals
More: https://t.co/IRBZXnUs77 pic.twitter.com/rvLxI6YbF9
— Michael Quander (@MikeQReports) July 16, 2019
Even though individuals who witnessed the shooting refused to talk, prosecutors said, the government still managed to secure the convictions based on evidence of motive, forensics, the defendants' social media history, videos, texts, and calls.
Prosecutors reportedly said at trial that Wilson "was shot in the heart and died on her mother's doorstep!" When Makiyah's parents sat down for an interview with WUSA9 a year after the shooting, it was clear how devastated they were by their daughter's murder.
Life? Oh, its been a living hell for #MakiyahWilson's parents and loved ones. There's no rule book on how to cope with losing a child to gun violence. It just should not happen. @wusa9 #getupdc #wusa9originals pic.twitter.com/vDbN2lhGhn
— Michael Quander (@MikeQReports) July 16, 2019
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