Jamel D. Rush was indicted Monday, Sept. 19. for the Aug. 4 murder of Christian Green. Green died after he tried to intervene during an argument between Rush and his girlfriend, according to testimony in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
During Rush’s preliminary hearing in Fairfax County General District on Wednesday, Sept. 14, Green’s friend described what he witnessed on the 9600 block of Hagel Circle the night power went out on the cul-de-sac of town homes.
Green and the witness were walking together down the street, when they heard a woman scream.
"We heard her scream, ‘Let me go, let me go,’" the witness testified. "Christian ran toward where the screams were coming from. I was behind him. He asked the girl, was she OK?"
According to the witness, Rush then walked toward Green.
"It looked like they were fist fighting at first," he said. "Christian was standing at first, it looked like he was getting himself together. … He staggered a little bit."
As Rush and his girlfriend ran off, Green called out, the witness testified. "He stabbed me, call an ambulance, he stabbed me."
"I was holding him up, he was handing me his cell phone to call 911. I was screaming for the ambulance to come," he testified. "He was just sitting there trying to breathe."
It took eight or nine minutes for an ambulance to arrive, according to Green’s friend. "He said he was uncomfortable, and he started laying down," his friend testified. "I was holding him up, telling him to hold on."
<b>GREEN DIED</b> at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, according to police reports.
Green received two wounds, one lethal wound to the shoulder and another non-lethal wound to his left arm, according to testimony from Detective Derrick Hardy, of Fairfax County Police.
Police apprehended Rush driving a white Nissan Maxima on Richmond Highway near Fort Belvoir, 10 minutes after a lookout call was given to officers in the area, according to police reports.
An officer observed blood on Rush’s hands and clothing, according to court documents. Rush, who was with his girlfriend, admitted he was in the area of the stabbing, but denied being involved.
"He said that he heard a commotion and that several people started running towards him. He stated he did not know how the blood got on him. He said that he got into his vehicle and drove away from the scene," according to court documents.
Rush, of the 7500 block of Lindberg Drive, was arrested and charged with murder. His girlfriend was questioned and released, according to police reports.
Rush’s defense attorney, William Thompson, argued on Sept. 14 that Rush might have been defending himself.
"We certainly don’t want to make light of the fact that Mr. Green died," Thompson said. "This is certainly not a murder case, certainly not a first-degree murder case."
The blade of a large butcher knife was found on a sidewalk near the crime scene, according to testimony from Hardy, whose photographs of the crime scene were offered as evidence during Rush’s preliminary hearing.
General District Court Judge Ian Michael O’Flaherty ruled there was probable cause presented to certify the case to the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Rush is currently scheduled to face trial Circuit Court later this fall.