A man who’s accused of fatally shooting an 18-year-old woman at a New Year’s party inside a D.C. hotel room Monday had been asked to leave before he fired two rounds through the hotel room door, according to witness testimony in court documents.
Jelani Cousin, 18, of D.C., made his first appearance in court Wednesday. A defense attorney entered a not guilty plea before Cousin was ordered held without bond.
Cousin is charged with second degree murder while armed in the killing of 18-year-old Ashlei Hinds.
Hinds was found inside a seventh-floor room at the Embassy Suites Hotel in the 4300 block of Military Road NW at about 1:20 a.m. Monday, police said.
What led up to the New Year’s shooting?
A heated argument broke out after Cousin made sexual advances toward another partygoer who was allegedly intoxicated, according to witness testimony in court documents. Cousin and his friends were asked to leave, which prompted further arguments.
Multiple witnesses told police Cousin said he would “blow this spot up.”
According to court records, immediately after the door shut behind Cousin and his friends, two shots came through the door, striking Hinds. An autopsy found Hinds was shot twice in the left arm, with one of the bullets traveling through soft tissue, entering her rib cage and right lung.
She was reportedly shot while in the entryway and ran into the bedroom, where she sat on a bed and then fell to the ground. One witness told police there was a “scramble” to call 911 but there was some delay because they didn’t have Wi-Fi.
Hinds was pronounced dead at the scene, despite attempts by D.C. Fire and EMS to save her life.
Investigators said they found two 9 mm cartridge casings outside the hotel room and two bullet holes in the door. Blood and shattered glass littered the floor of the room’s common area, and there was blood spatter on the bedroom door and doorway when police arrived, according to the documents.
Security footage from the hotel appears to show Cousin leaving shortly after the shooting. Though his face was covered in a ski mask, he was also wearing a jacket with distinctive white lettering that he was caught on video wearing as he entered the hotel hours earlier, according to the documents.
Five others who were seen entering the hotel with Cousin earlier in the night followed shortly behind him as he left the hotel, according to the court records.
One witness told police Cousin referred to his gun as his “little friend” throughout the night and multiple others said he repeatedly showed the weapon to other partygoers before the shooting took place.
Several witnesses described his demeanor before the shooting as “rude,” and they told police Cousin had been drinking alcohol.
The same day police released a photo of the suspect, Cousin arrived at a D.C. police station with a relative who said Cousin wanted to turn himself in.
In court Wednesday, defense attorney Kevin Mosley argued no witness had seen Cousin actually fire a weapon and no weapon was recovered. But the judge ordered Cousin held without bond based on the number of witnesses who saw Cousin with a gun on the night of the shooting.
Cousin’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 16.
Hinds’ mother, Tiffany Falden, of Clinton, Maryland, told WTOP her daughter was a freshman at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and was home for the holidays when she was shot. Hinds graduated from Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 2023.
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