The prosecution in a murder case argued before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on June 12 for the detention of a defendant who was initially released by DC Superior Court Judge Anita Josey-Herring last month.
Donald Shield, 47, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing of Dominique Ratiff, 36, at the busy intersection of Dupont Circle and the 1900 block of Massachusetts Avenue, NW on Dec. 30, 2024.
Shield was arrested and released on May 8 under the condition of GPS monitoring after Judge Josey-Herring denied the prosecution’s request for a hold.
The prosecution cited Shield’s criminal history, the video evidence and the nature of the crime to argue that he should be detained pretrial, this time before Judge Kravitz.
The Judge told the prosecutor he doesn’t know if he has the authority to detain Shield following his release by Judge Josey-Herring, because Shield didn’t violate the conditions of his release. He requested the prosecutor file a document citing a different statute that shows he has the authority to detain Shield.
Shield’s lawyer, Bernadette Armand, also asked for a continuance for the preliminary hearing to give her more time to look over video evidence before proceeding with the case. Judge Kravitz granted the continuance, but noted that it would not be an “excessive” period of time.
Parties are slated to reconvene on July 3 for a preliminary hearing.
