DC Superior Court Andrea Hertzfeld found probable cause that a defendant was involved in a shooting incident and denied release pending his next hearing on Dec. 2.
Jovan Abrego, 25, is charged with endangerment with a firearm in a public place and carrying a pistol without a license for his alleged involvement in a shooting that took place on the 1300 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW, on Nov. 29. No injuries were reported.
The prosecution alerted the court that a preliminary offer was not provided to Abrego because they hadn’t talked to the victim yet. After discussion with his defense attorney, Gail Engmann, Abrego decided to continue with the preliminary hearing regardless.
The prosecutor called the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who testified that she and her partner spoke with two eyewitnesses on the night of the shooting. One was working security for Tokyo Pearl, the club at which the shooting occurred, and the other eyewitness was an Uber driver who was parked across the block from the shooting location.
According to the officer, the security guard said that a man in an orange jacket was kicked out of the club because of a dispute with a staff member. Five minutes after the initial dispute, the man came back to the rear entrance of the club and initiated another argument with the staff when he pulled out a handgun from his pants, said the officer.
The officer testified that the security guard saw the man in the orange jacket fire one shot from outside, into the club, shattering the glass door.
According to the officer, the Uber driver was parked across the block when they heard the first shooting. Startled, they ducked down in their car as soon as they heard the shot, said the officer. The officer mentioned that once the Uber driver looked back out, they saw a man in an orange jacket shoot a second bullet into the street towards the direction of the club.
The officer testified that after the shooting, a lookout for two Hispanic men, one in a black hoodie and one in an orange jacket was delivered from dispatch, in response. Abrego was stopped approximately five minutes after, walking with an individual with a black hoodie near the location of the shooting. He was wearing an orange jacket and was in possession of cocaine and a jammed firearm, according to the police.
After being arrested, Abrego was said to test positive for cocaine at the DC Jail.
Following the shooting, the officer said she canvassed the scene and only found the spent bullet casing from the first shooting. The second casing was later found to be jammed in the chamber of the gun retrieved from Abrego, according to the officer.
During cross-examination, Engmann highlighted that there were three reasons why the court should not find probable cause in this case.
Engmann claimed that the look out description was extremely vague, not containing any information of height, weight, hair, or tattoos, despite Abrego having multiple visible tattoos. She also emphasized that no identification procedures were made prior to Abrego’s arrest, even though they had an eyewitness that interacted with the shooter.
The details for the argument preceding the shooter getting kicked out of the club were also “bare,” according to Engmann. Engmann talked about how it was impossible to know if the altercation ever became physical prior to the shooting, thus insinuating the possibility of self-defense.
Lastly, Engmann mentioned the idea that Tokyo Pearl was not a public venue. Abrego is charged with endangerment with a firearm in a public place. Jury instructions indicate that a public location is defined by a location the general public can access without payment.
According to Engmann, there was no record of whether the club required payment for entry, thus it was unknown whether the club was determined to be a public location.
Judge Hertzfeld determined there to be probable cause for both charges because the defendant was found to match the initial identification and allegedly in possession of a firearm. She also mentioned the lack of evidence of any immediate threat to Abrego at the time of the incident. The judge concluded that the shot was fired on a public sidewalk, deeming the location of the shooting a public location.
Parties then presented arguments regarding Abrego’s release or detention pending trial.
Engmann mentioned that Abrego had no criminal history and family support. Multiple letters of support from his mother, father, and son were submitted, which showed that he is an asset to the community, according to Engmann. He also highlighted that Abrego helped coach children’s soccer and held multiple jobs to support his family financially. Engmann also said that Abrego’s pride and joy was caring for his son.
The prosecutor argued that Abrego’s alleged involvement in the shooting was serious by nature, especially because it was done in public. She mentioned that the weight of the evidence was strong as Abrego was stopped five minutes after the shooting, with a gun that was jammed with a spent shell casing. The prosecutor also highlighted that Abrego was on pretrial release for a pending larceny case from Fairfax County when he allegedly committed the shooting.
Judge Hertzfeld agreed with the prosecution, focusing on the severity of the alleged crime, the weight of the evidence, and the fact that Abrego was on pretrial release when he was arrested.
Parties are slated to reconvene on Dec. 26.
