Lawyers discussed how to get a homicide defendant back into the District after mistakenly being transferred to the Bureau of Prisons (BoP) before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Oct. 20.
Gerald Thomas, 22, is charged with first-and-second-degree murder while armed,, assault with a dangerous weapon, seven counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, attempted kidnapping while armed, and carrying a pistol without a license in connection to his alleged involvement a mass shooting that resulted in the death of Dasha Cleary, 20, and injuries to four other people on the 4000 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW on Jan. 22, 2022.
Defense attorney Dominique Winters informed the court that her client had been transferred out of the DC Jail and had been handed over to the US Marshals Service by mistake.
Judge Ryan assessed that this was likely because, since the defendant was held in DC on other charges, his bond status had not been updated to keep him in DC pre-trial under DC Code which requires detention in first-degree murder cases.
The court informed the prosecution to figure out where the defendant was sent once he appears on the BoP database and to begin the paperwork for a bond status change as soon as possible.
The court will reconvene on Dec. 3.
