8 Defendants Held During Initial Hearings Over the Weekend

By D.C. Witness Staff - October 5, 2020
Featured | Homicides | Suspects |

On Oct. 3, eight defendants were ordered to be held at DC Jail, while 22 defendants were conditionally released.

A female domestic violence defendant was held. She is charged with contempt of a Civil Protective Order (CPO). DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna ordered the defendant held at DC Jail due to her having violated the CPO multiple times within the last 30 days. Judge McKenna also ordered a medical alert for the defendant.

Gerald Edwards is a fugitive from justice from the state of Maryland, with an underlying charge of homicide. After speaking to his attorney, Edwards decided to waive his right to an extradition hearing and be held at DC Jail. The Maryland authorities have three days to pick Edwards up.

A male domestic violence defendant was charged with simple assault and contempt. Judge McKenna ordered the defendant held since the complainant in his current case is the same in a separate pending case. The defendant has four pending cases in total, three of which are domestic violence matters. 

A second male defendant was held in a domestic violence case. He is being charged with attempted threats to do bodily and simple assault. He is also charged as being a fugitive from the state of Maryland. Judge McKenna ordered the defendant held on both matters, as she said she couldn’t guarantee the defendant would comply with release conditions. 

Najeem Sule, 19, is charged for committing armed robbery. On Oct. 2, he allegedly approached the victim on the 5700 block of 13th Street, NW and asked to use the victim’s cell phone. After the victim dialed the number, Sule brandished a knife and told the victim he was being robbed, according to court documents. Judge McKenna ordered the defendant be held, citing his criminal history. 

William Gonyea, 23, is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business. 

According to court documents, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) stopped Gonyea’s vehicle after discovering the tags indicated it was stolen from Colorado. When MPD searched the vehicle, they found marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a firearm equipped with a high capacity magazine. 

Judge McKenna could not guarantee the safety of the community and ordered the defendant to be held.

Christopher Montgomery, 32, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business. On Oct. 2, MPD was called to the 200 block of South Carolina Avenue, SE. An injured woman approached police officers and said she had been assaulted by two individuals inside the residence, according to court documents. The victim told MPD that Montgomery had allegedly threatened to kill her with a loaded firearm.

Judge McKenna said despite Montgomery’s limited criminal history, this case is very serious in nature and she ordered Montgomery held.

Lamonte Tate, 18, is charged with committing armed robbery and carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business. According to court documents, from July 8 to Sept. 19, there were three robberies committed in the same area. Victims of the robberies responded to vehicle listings on the website “OfferUp” and were subsequently robbed at gunpoint.

Despite not having any adult convictions, Judge McKenna could not guarantee the safety of the community, saying the robberies Tate was involved in all showed a fair amount of planning and premeditation.

A 26-year-old defendant charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine was released. He is co-defendants with a held defendant, Tate. Judge McKenna could not find any evidence that this defendant was directly involved with Tate’s activities. They were both arrested under the same search warrant issued by MPD. Depending on the date of Tate’s preliminary hearing, this defendant may return to court before March 5, 2021.

Four domestic violence defendants were released. Three were charged with simple assault and one with attempted threats to do bodily harm. One of the defendants was also charged with the possession of an unregistered firearm. They were all given stay away orders.

A 25-year-old defendant is charged with failing to charge his GPS monitoring device. He was released and ordered to come back into compliance with his release conditions. 

Two defendants are charged with DUI. They were both released and ordered to not drive without a valid permit or under the influence.

Two defendants are charged with drug offenses. One with the distribution of a controlled substance, and the other with the unlawful possession of a liquid (PCP). The defendant charged with PCP possession was given a stay away order.

Another 25-year-old defendant is charged with lewd,  indecent or obscene acts. He was given a stay away order and released.

Two fugitives from justice were released and ordered to surrender themselves to the respective authorities. The fugitive from Maryland has an underlying charge of heroin sale.

Four defendants arrested on bench warrants were all released. Judge McKenna quashed their warrants and ordered them to report to their supervision officers. One defendant has three pending, non-violent misdemeanor cases.

Five defendants with misdemeanor charges were released. The charges included sex abuse, simple assault, credit card fraud and receiving stolen property, the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm and prohibited weapon and unlawful entry into private property. They were all given stay away orders.

Released defendants will return to court on March 5, 2021.

Article written by Caitlyn O’Neil.