A jury found that a shooting defendant acted in self-defense and acquitted him of nine out of ten charges on Oct. 17 before DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson. .
Ato Ocran, 46, was originally charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business, and malicious destruction of property for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting on the 2600 block of 10th Street, NE, on June 3.
In the end, a jury found that Ocran acted in self-defense and acquitted him of all charges except for carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business. The maximum penalty for Ocran’s conviction is five years imprisonment and a $12,500 fine. Judge Dayson is scheduled to sentence Ocran for that charge on Dec. 18.
Parties also talked about what to do with five counts of possession of an unregistered firearm that defense attorneys Elizabeth Paige White and Kevann Gardner had successfully severed from the list of charges brought to trial. Prosecutors filed the charges after police retrieved several firearms from Ocran’s home more than a month after the shooting, according to court documents.
White and Gardner had sought to dismiss the charges during pre-trial motions, but Judge Dayson only went so far as to sever them, without objection from the prosecution. When charges are severed, they are separated into different cases before the court.
Judge Dayson accepted White’s request to call a jury for the matter and put the case before DC Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld on the misdemeanor schedule. Parties are scheduled to convene for a status hearing before Judge Hertzfeld on Nov. 12.
Prosecutors also objected to White and Gardner’s request to release Ocran’s Tesla and phone from evidence until at least the Dec. 18 sentencing, and said that they might hold the items as they prosecute the remaining gun charges.
Judge Dayson said that she could not see how Ocran’s Tesla and phone were relevant to the ongoing case but allowed prosecutors to hold them until sentencing.
Parties are slated to reconvene Dec. 18.
