DC Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean released a carjacking defendant on Sept. 23 after the prosecution failed to provide the defense with key witness information before a court ordered deadline.
Rodale Broadus, 21, is charged with armed carjacking and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a carjacking at the 900 block of 24th Street, NW on Aug. 15, 2024.
According to court documents, Broadus is allegedl threatened an Amazon driver at gunpoint while on a delivery route.
Broadus’ attorney, Lauren Morehouse, told the court that she was still waiting to receive information about changes in a detective’s testimony that the prosecution was supposed to have provided to the defense before the hearing. The Jencks Act requires prosecutors to provide defendants with verbatim statements made by prosecutorial witnesses after they testify in a grand jury.
The prosecutor said that she had asked the officer involved to submit an updated form to the Department of Forensic Science (DFS) but that he still had not done so.
Judge McLean ordered the prosecution to provide all Jencks information relating to the officer by Oct. 7.
Morehouse told the court that not only had the prosecution failed to turn over Jencks information before the court-ordered deadline, but she also asked Judge McLean to impose deadlines on the prosecution to turn over evidence that the defense had sought for months.
Morehouse noted that the prosecution had still not turned over evidence from targeted requests she made in June, and said that prosecutors had not turned over phone extraction and records from Prince George’s County. The prosecutor noted that she herself had not received the phone extraction until the night before the hearing and that she was having difficulty communicating with Prince George’s County authorities.
Judge McLean also ordered prosecutors to turn over Prince George’s County records and comply with the defense’s requests within two weeks and reminded the prosecutor that it is her duty to review all the evidence in the case and turn it over to the defense expeditiously..
Morehouse also requested that Judge McLean release Broadus because the delay was not fair to him or his family. Morehouse pointed to the audience to show Broadus’s family was in attendance.
“I want to start by saying that Mr. Broadus has had his family present at every hearing,” Morehouse said.
She further explained that DC Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann had noted on her finding of probable cause that the evidence in the case was relatively weak.
Judge McLean granted the request for release over objection from the prosecution, saying that the prosecution had indicated they had reviewed the defense’s evidence request and had generally limited information in the case.
“I’m constantly feeling backed into a corner,” Judge McLean said about cases where the defendant faces serious charges but delays threaten the constitutional guarantee to a speedy trial.
McLean released Broadus with a stay-away order from the victim and under the conditions of 24 hour home confinement and GPS monitoring. Several of Broadus’ family members ran out of the courtroom to celebrate in the hall when McLean reached her decision.
Parties are slated to reconvene Oct. 19.
