DC Superior Court Renee Raymond stated that she had a “problem” with a stabbing case as the prosecution could not produce the weapon during a Sept. 11 hearing, and ultimately dismissed the case.
Anthony Israel, 43, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for his alleged stabbing of a store employee on the 2300 block of 18th Street, NW, on Sept. 7.
According to court documents, the incident stemmed from a disagreement between the victim and Israel after the victim accused Israel of stealing merchandise.
The prosecution called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who responded to the scene to testify about the investigation.
According to the officer, surveillance footage showed the victim following Israel out of the store and kicking him. The footage shows the men getting into a physical altercation that allegedly ended with the stabbing.
As evidence of the stabbing, prosecution stated the presence of what seemed to be a knife in video footage taken from surveillance footage from the store, an eyewitness testimony, and a pry bar supposedly removed from the defendant at the time of the arrest. However, the prosecution failed to provide tangible evidence, besides written testimony from police.
There was no visible sharp object in the video footage presented by Neveen Hammad, Israel’s attorney. Furthermore, body-worn camera footage taken from the responding officers showed a different story than the prosecution’s–an unsure eyewitness unable to confirm the existence of a knife and a store employee that only experienced what he called “scratches” from the altercation.
Given the limited evidence, Judge Raymond stated that she had a “problem” with the case. “There is not probable cause given all of the evidence I’ve heard.”
She explained that not only was there no probable cause for an assault with a deadly weapon because of the lack of evidence for a sharp object at the scene, but it was also unclear if there was foundation for an assault claim because the store employee was the initial aggressor.
The case was dismissed with no further hearings scheduled.
