Judge Holds Shooting, Carjacking Suspect

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

A carjacking defendant waived his right to a preliminary hearing in carjacking and shooting cases before DC Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann in an Oct. 25 hearing.

J’Mond Fields, 21, is charged with unarmed carjacking and robbery for his alleged involvement in a March 12 carjacking incident at the intersection of Martin Luther King Junior Avenue and Chicago Street, SE.

According to court documents, Fields is alleged to have acted as the getaway driver for another suspect during the incident. The unknown suspect is alleged to have pushed the victim off his motor scooter while waiting at a red light and taken control. Additionally the suspect crashed the motor scooter, and robbed the victim before getting back on the motor scooter with Fields and driving off.

Fields is also charged, in a second case, with carrying a pistol without a license for his alleged involvement in an April 19 shooting inside of a bus on the 1100 block of Howard Road, SE. No injuries were reported.

According to court documents, Fields is alleged to have witnessed the victim in a verbal altercation with two individuals while on the bus. The victim exited the bus and Fields fired his firearm twice in the direction of the victim, shattering the bus window.

During the hearing, Fields’ attorney, Howard McEachern, filed a waiver of preliminary hearing to determine probable cause for both cases and argued for Fields’ release.

McEachern argued that Fields’ only criminal history was a misdemeanor, and that Fields not the perpetrator.

The prosecution, however, argued that Fields’ actions showed continued dangerous behavior citing, and that his alleged aiding and abetting role in the March 12 case carries the same weight as if Fields was the principal offender.

Judge Herrmann ruled for Fields to be held, stating that Fields is a danger to the community, and that there are no conditions she could place that would protect the community from Fields.

The next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4.