DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz told the court that a homicide defendant’s deferred sentencing may be impacted if he is no longer in an educational program in jail in a hearing on Nov. 21.
Damonta Thompson, 28, was convicted of conspiracy, three counts of first-degree premeditated murder while armed with aggravating circumstances, three counts of assault with the intent to kill while armed, and three counts of assault with significant bodily injury while armed.
These charges stem from Thompson’s involvement in a mass shooting on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW, on Sept. 4, 2021. The shooting killed Donnetta Dyson, 31, Johnny Joyner, 37, and 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, and wounded three other individuals.
On Oct. 31, parties agreed to delay Thompson’s 35-year sentence until after he finished a GED program with the DC Jail.
During the Nov. 21 hearing, prosecutors told the court that they received an email from the Department of Corrections (DOC), which stated that Thompson was not involved in any educational efforts. The prosecution argued that there would be no reason to continue deferring Thompson’s sentencing if this were true.
When asked about why he was not involved in any educational programs, defense attorney Elizabeth Weller told the court that she had been busy with other hearings for the past few days and had been unable to meet with Thompson prior to the hearing.
She explained that she was under the impression that Thompson was involved in programming and had been moved to the educational block of the jail. She requested additional time to discuss the issue with the defendant.
Judge Kravitz said that it would be fair to give the defense time to dispute the DOC’s claim, and that he would be willing to allow the defense to gather evidence as long as they were sure that Thompson was actually involved in educational programming.
Parties are set to return on Dec. 10.
