DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman found that the prosecution failed to meet the probable cause standard to charge an individual for a homicide during hearings on Sept. 2 and 4.
Tarik Settles, 30, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Dar’Juan McRoy on April 22 on the 2900 block of Knox Avenue, SE.
According to court documents, McRoy was shot seven times by an unidentified shooter and pronounced dead on the scene. When officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrived on the scene due to gunshot alerts, they located a trail of bullet casings from the scene to the street. These casings were consistent with a firearm later located on Settles’ person during his arrest on Aug. 14.
During Settles’ preliminary hearing, the prosecution called on the lead detective from MPD to testify.
According to the prosecution, Settles, who was not charged as a shooter, aided and abetted the shooter by driving him to and from the scene, and had prior knowledge that the shooting was going to occur.
The detective made the original identification of Settles and the suspect who shot McRoy using security camera footage of the two individuals at a liquor store before the incident.
The detective testified to a series of events captured by surveillance footage, including footage that was said to show the shooter canvassing the scene with Settles before the shooting. Following that the detective testified to surveillance footage showing the shooter pulling Settles aside and conversing in the street.
After the shooting, surveillance footage showed Settles picking up the shooter in his vehicle from a nearby dumpster. The prosecution argued there would be no way for Settles to know the shooter’s location post-shooting without prior communication, indicating potential foreknowledge of the event.
According to the prosecution, there are “too many coincidences” to deny probable cause for a mens rea, or the intention to kill McRoy.
Cross-examining the witness, defense attorney Molly Bunke argued that the prosecution offered no evidence that Settles shared the shooter’s intent, given that there was no direct evidence of communication via cell phone, no camera footage showing when the shooter left Settles’ car, and no definitive evidence otherwise to suggest that Settles knew about the shooter’s intent to murder.
Bunke argued that it is not enough to “have some idea that something might happen,” and that the charge of first-degree premeditated murder is “too far for those assumptions to go.”
This case, according to Bunke, is “built entirely on speculation and assumptions.”
Judge Edelman, in a ruling on Sept. 4, found that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to prove that Settles shared the shooter’s intent.
According to Judge Edelman, the court has no evidence that Settles knew about the shooter’s firearm or that Settles dropped the shooter off at the scene.
Additionally, there is no evidence of prior planning except for the brief conversation between Settles and the shooter before the incident, and the court does not know what the conversation was about.
Judge Edelman ultimately dismissed the case because of the lack of evidence, despite the victim’s family’s discontent.
No further dates were set.
