DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ruled on April 2 to detain a “serial offender,” a stabbing and sex abuse defendant.
Micheal Louis, 60, is charged with assault with intent to commit first degree sexual abuse while armed in connection to his alleged involvement in stabbing of a victim at the 400 block of Florida Avenue, NE on Oct. 2, 2023. The victim sustained a laceration to her leg.
Louis is also charged with first degree sexual abuse while armed in connection to his alleged involvement in the sexual abuse of another victim while brandishing a knife on Feb. 14, 2023.
According to court documents, the victim reported being intoxicated outside of a bar on Oct. 2, 2023, when Louis approached her and invited her to ride on his scooter to his apartment. When they arrived, Louis allegedly asked her to bend over and picked up a knife when the victim refused. The victim said she fought back and escaped, calling 911, and leaving with a cut on the back of her leg and bites on her hand and shoulder.
In court, Louis waived his right to a preliminary hearing, meaning parties will move forward in the case without presenting evidence for and against probable cause.
Following the waiver, the prosecution argued to keep Louis in jail, calling him a “serial offender.” According to the prosecution, Louis was on supervised release for a 1999 sexual assault case when both the assault and sexual abuse incident occurred. He was released from prison in 2020.
The prosecution noted each incident involved strangers, a continued pattern since his 1999 case. Louis’ alleged actions on supervised release pose him as a danger to the community, asserted prosecutors.
Louis’ attorney, Michelle Stevens, focused on Feb. 14, 2023 sexual abuse case. She said the situation was “not as we say, ‘stranger danger’” and in both cases, the women went into Louis’ home. Additionally, she questioned the reliability of the sexual abuse victim’s account, saying she wanted to “speak carefully about this case,” paused, and “while there is DNA evidence from the first encounter, there is not DNA where one would expect it to be. It’s on the neck.” The sexual abuse case reportedly involves vaginal involvement and forced oral copulation.
Judge Edelman considered the reliability of the accounts, saying the “facts of this case are very complicated,” with one victim having some reliability issues and the other being intoxicated.
“This case is more about danger than it is flight risk,” Judge Edelman said, considering the reasons for detention. According to the prosecution, Louis had failed to report he had changed addresses following a rent issue.
Judge Edelman acknowledged the series of incidents, from the 1999 case, another 1998 assault case in Fairfax, and the two incidents before him. The case is “very serious and disturbing,” Judge Edelman said. He ruled for continued detention.
The parties set a date to discuss negotiations of a plea.
Parties are slated to reconvene on April 24.
