D.C. Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond found probable cause in a stabbing and denied the defense’s request for release in a Sept. 4 hearing.
Darryen Kenney,23, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly stabbing his stepfather with a knife on August 23, 2025 on the 3400 block of 18th St. SE Washington, D.C. 20020. According to the police affidavit, Kenney entered his mother’s house, stabbed his mother’s husband with a knife, and punched and kicked his stepfather.
During the preliminary hearing, the prosecution brought in an officer on scene who told the court that Kenney’s mother called the police because the defendant got into a fight with his stepfather.
The victim told the officer that the defendant punched him and cut him with a knife in the kitchen. Additionally, the officer testified that Kenney’s eight-year-old brother told him that the defendant had a “big knife” and the stepfather was too intoxicated to “fully explain…the chain of events”.
On cross examination, defense counsel Sharon Weathers brought up a reported threat that the victim. Additionally, Weathers argued that Judge Raymond should not find probable cause because there’s “no definitive evidence of assault”.
Additionally, Weathers requested Kenney’s release because he stays at a youth shelter, will stay away from his mother’s house, has little criminal history and doesn’t pose a danger to the community.
The prosecution opposed Kenney’s release because of the serious nature of the offense and Kenney’s pending cases.
Judge Raymond found probable cause because one person escalated the incidenrt in front of the defendant’s eight-year-old stepbrother, “irrespective of whether the complaining witness was intoxicated” . Additionally, Judge Raymond denied Kenney’s release because Kenney “persistently found himself in the crosshairs of the criminal justice system” and claimed no combination of release conditions would ensure the safety of the community.
The parties are set to reconvene on Sept. 23.
