DC Superior Court Judge Robert Hildum released a stabbing defendant on GPS monitoring in a disputed self-defense case on July 25.
William Chambers, 40, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for his alleged involvement in a stabbing that occurred on July 22 on the 700 block of Langston Terrace, NE.
According to court documents, Chambers and the victim were neighbors who had an ongoing dispute. In addition, court documents claimed the victim acted as the initial aggressor who punched Chambers and knocked him to the ground before Chambers allegedly entered his home to retrieve a butcher knife to stab the victim in the leg.
The prosecutor played footage of the altercation between Chambers and the victim. The footage showed the victim beating Chambers while he was on the ground before another individual intervened. He claimed that the victim had attacked Chambers because he had brandished a knife at him and was acting in self-defense.
After reviewing the footage, Judge Hildum said he was unsure of the weight of the evidence but that if Chambers was actually the initial aggressor like the prosecutor claimed, then the victim’s reaction was “excessive self-defense.”
An officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) who responded to the stabbing claimed that he had not seen the footage prior to arresting Chambers but said he spoke to the victim, who claimed he was stabbed by Chambers on his right thigh. The officer added that as he was investigating the scene, he saw Chambers’ door cracked open, walked in and saw Chambers on the floor with a butcher’s knife next to him.
The officer said a third individual who claimed to have intervened to stop the fight was depicted in the video swinging at the victim with an object in his hand.
In his cross-examination, Chamber’s defense attorney, Chidi Ogolo, asked him if he believed the victim was the initial aggressor in the altercation, and the officer agreed. Ogolo also asked the officer if he saw any blood on the butcher’s knife in Chambers’ residence, but confirmed he did not.
Ogolo rebutted the prosecutor’s claim that the victim acted in self-defense by arguing that the footage did not show Chambers stabbing the victim and only showed the victim beating Chambers while he was on the ground. According to Ogolo, the prosecutor was attempting to twist the facts of the case in order to support his argument.
Ogolo requested Chambers be released and that the court order a no-contact order between Chambers and the victim. He added that Chambers has court no-shows, was not a danger to the community, and was willing to stay at a homeless shelter to abide by his stay-away order.
Judge Hildum acknowledged that Chambers had strong ties to the community but told him that he was concerned about his safety if he was granted release.
Ultimately, Judge Hildum found probable cause and ordered Chambers to report to Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) to undergo drug testing and be placed on GPS monitoring. Chambers was ordered to stay away from the victim and the incident address unless escorted by a police officer.
Parties are slated to reconvene on Aug. 11.
