Paul Jefferies pleaded innocent Thursday to second-degree murder while armed in the September 2013 death of Awele Olisemeka, who died after being hit in the head with a brick.
Olisemeka, 24, was fatally beaten after a group of men attacked and attempted to rob his friends on 5th street and Kennedy Street Northwest, charging documents say.
He was found on the 900 block of Madison Northwest beaten and unconscious on Sept. 16, 2013. Olisemeka was transported to a local hospital, where he died two days later.
According to documents, after Olisemeka heard about the robbery, he and his friends went to the Emery Recreation Center to find the assailants. Olisemeka and his friends spotted one of the men who attacked them. The man pulled out a knife, then retreated to the basketball courts nearby and returned with over 50 other people, court documents state.
The large group attacked Olisemeka and his friends, and they retreated. To protect himself, Olisemeka swung an 18-inch souvenir bat he had brought with him, hitting multiple individuals, according to court documents.
Police say witnesses said the brawl moved into the streets near the recreation center, and Jefferies was seen leaving to get a brick from a nearby row house, according to documents.
Documents say one witness, who identified Jefferies, told police that Jefferies ran up from behind and swung a brick at Olisemeka’s head, knocking him to the ground.
A copy of the indictment is below:
