Teen Brawler Testifies in Brooklyn Trial

By AMBER ALEXANDER & ALEAH WINTER

A Brooklyn teen, involved in a brawl linked to the case of a star high school running back accused of attempted murder took the witness stand in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Thursday to testify that the defendant shot at the group of young women.

Rahel Ashby, the football star and senior at Grand Street Campus in East Williamsburg, was accused of firing eight shots into staged fight involving many teenage girls in 2014, including his sister, Nyesha Bates and the witness, Imani Lewis.

In a withering cross-examination, Ashby’s attorney Ken Montgomery did his best to undercut the witness’s credibility by attacking her morals.

“You are no longer selling sex right?” he asked, in light of evidence that Lewis had a history of prostitution and fighting.

One of her group chats introduced into evidence showed Lewis sending messages to her boyfriend and other teenage girls who were involved in the fight, about starting a prostitution ring. They discussed prices for customers as well as ad rates on craigslist and Backpage.

The brawl stemmed from a discussion on Facebook between Lewis, Bates and other young women, who decided to meet up for another round of fighting after disagreeing over who won a previous fight.

Dr. Michael Hockspien, a physician at SUNY Downstate, also took the witness stand to testify that he treated three people with nonfatal gunshot wounds.

 

 

 

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