Attorneys gave closing arguments Wednesday afternoon in the jury trial of Dieneba Sekou Traore, 47, of Columbia, who is charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder in the October 2024 shooting of two teens in Columbia.
Traore was indicted in January on two counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder, two counts of first- and second-degree assault, and two counts of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and assault related to a Oct. 12, 2024 shooting in a Giant parking lot that left two teenagers injured.
Attorneys presented closing arguments Wednesday in Howard County Circuit Court.
Assistant state’s attorney Tricia Cecil described how the case started because of a “mother’s concerns for her son’s safety” and devolved into vigilante justice. Cecil said the shooting was triggered by Traore’s desire to protect her own son and the son of Wyketa Burgess, who is named as a co-conspirator in the case. Cecil said the shooting was a “targeted strike on children” after Traore’s son was robbed on Oct. 7 by the two teens who were shot on Oct. 14.
Cecil said though Traore was not the shooter, her role as an accomplice means she is just as guilty as if she would have pulled the trigger, Cecil said.
Cecil argued that Burgess and Traore planned the shooting with a third conspirator named “Kevin.” Cecil said investigators believe that “Kevin” was the shooter, but they have not located him or charged him in the case. Burgess, 39, of Columbia, was indicted in April on attempted first- and second-degree murder charges and conspiracy charges in the shooting. Burgess’s trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 4.
During Traore’s trial, which began June 16, Cecil used cellphone records and cell tower locations to show how the cellphone locations of Traore, Burgess and “Kevin” matched the timeline of the Oct. 12 shooting.
In her closing statements, defense attorney Latoya Francis-Williams told a different story, one not “painted with generality,” she said. Francis-Williams urged the jury to look at the details, and said that they would lead to a conclusion in which her client would be found not guilty.
The defense attorney said that testimony linking cellphones to specific locations was faulty. She argued that service providers cannot get the specific location of a device but instead must rely on a formula to place a cellphone in a zone. A zone can stretch 2 miles, she said, and any location within the area can come up in that zone.
“Meters matter. Miles matter. Minutes matter,” Francis-Williams said. “This is not about vigilante justice — she didn’t get justice.”
According to charging documents, police responded to the Giant parking lot at 8805 Centre Park Drive in Columbia around 9:10 p.m., Oct. 12 and found two young people with gunshot wounds to their legs lying in a grassy area between the Giant and an IHOP. Witnesses told police they saw a person fire shots at the victims before getting into the back passenger seat of a white Mercedes SUV, according to charging documents.
After reviewing footage from a nearby Royal Farms, police determined that the victims were among a group of four teens walking through the parking lot. A white Mercedes was seen driving into the lot before the shooting and seems to have been driving in circles around the area, according to charging documents. The vehicle, which had a distinct bumper sticker, left the scene after the shooting, according to the documents. Police determined the Mercedes was registered to Traore, who had earlier reported that her son was the victim of an armed robbery on Oct. 7.
The jury began deliberations late Wednesday and continued Thursday.
This story will be updated.
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