Trial Postponed for Robbery Suspect Stabbed in DC Jail

By D.C. Witness Staff - August 23, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan agreed to a new trial date for co-defendants in a robbery and shooting case in an Aug. 23 hearing after one of the suspects was stabbed at the DC jail. 

George Belk and Anthony Owens, both 42, are charged with assault with intent to commit robbery while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to an incident that occurred on April 15, 2020 on the 1300 block of Good Hope Road, SE

According to a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) report, Belk and Owens were in the process of committing an armed robbery when an unknown individual started shooting at the pair.  Witnesses told police the would-be robbers were wounded by gunfire and sped away in a black vehicle.

Originally, the suspects said they were the intended robbery victims and drove to United Medical Health Center where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

A key witness in the case told police he thought that Belk and Owens were trying to rob him and also fired shots at the suspects as they were trying to escape.  That individual says he knows who actually shot Belk and Owens, but won’t reveal the name.  

According to court documents, the witness who allegedly fired at Belk and Owens was previously convicted of crimes that carry more than one year in jail. 

In a motion filed in DC Superior Court on Aug. 17, Belk’s attorney, Bruce Cooper, asked for a change in the trial date because his client’s wounds were “bad and bloody”  and that he would be hospitalized for a few days after being stabbed six times.  However, Belk was present for the Aug. 23 court hearing.

The rationale for Belk’s new trial date, according to the motion, was “to review trial strategy, possible witness issues, and evidentiary issues prior to the trial.”

The same day Belk was injured, another DC Jail inmate, Darrow Johnson, 34, was allegedly stabbed to death by Mussay Rezene, 30, with a “cutting instrument,” according to court documents.  

Judge Ryan described conditions at the jail as “notoriously problematic.” 

Cooper tells D.C. Witness police should make a greater effort to get the witness to identify the individual who wounded Belk and Owens since investigators still haven’t found any guns that Belk and Owens allegedly used in the attack. 

Judge Ryan pushed the trial date back until Oct. 21 at 9:30 a.m.