5 Defendants Held During Initial Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - October 19, 2020
Featured | Homicides | Suspects |

On Oct. 17, five defendants were held at DC Jail and 22 were released.

A male defendant was held on a felony charge in a domestic violence case. He is being charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction and assault with a dangerous weapon, which was identified as a rifle. 

The prosecution requested the defendant be held, saying the weapon involved in the matter was allegedly a military style automatic rifle, and the complainant was a juvenile female.

Judge Heide Herrmann agreed with the request to ensure the safety of the community, noting that the defendant had a previous case which also involved a firearm.

The defendant was allegedly on probation supervision at the time of the crime, according to court documents.

Andre Walker is being charged with simple assault. On Sept. 28 he was seen assaulting the complainant on the 4300 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE. Walker, 32, was released from incarceration in March based on a compassionate release motion, and was deemed a loss of contact with his probation officer.

Judge Herrmann said she could not guarantee that Walker would comply with release conditions and ordered him held. Judge Herrmann also noted that the severity of the assault contributed to her decision. 

Paula Williams is being charged with violating a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) and violating the conditions of her release. Williams, 48, was arraigned earlier in the week on a separate matter and was ordered to to report to the Pretrial Services Agency for placement into the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP). However, when Williams was scheduled to have her GPS monitoring device installed, she was allegedly committing the crime in this case. 

Judge Herrmann could not guarantee that Williams would comply in this new matter and ordered her detained. Judge Herrmann also ordered a forensic evaluation for the defendant, as there could be mental health issues involved.

Kennie Gray is being charged with carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or place of business, the  possession of an unregistered firearm, the unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction and the possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. 

On Oct. 16, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to gunshots on the 3500 block of 22nd Street, SE. Upon arrival, officers noticed Gray, 24, acting suspiciously and glancing at his waistband, according to court documents.

After patting Gray down, MPD discovered a firearm, to which Gray allegedly admitted was his. Gray also informed MPD of additional ammunition located at his address, documents state.

Judge Herrmann noted that Gray had a previous charge involving a firearm, and he was allegedly deemed a loss of contact with probation in his most recent case. Judge Herrmann said she could not guarantee the safety of the community, or that Gray would comply with release conditions and ordered him detained.

Todd Lawson was held after waiving his right to an extradition hearing. Lawson is a fugitive of justice from Virginia. He has three warrants for his arrest, two for robbery and one for a probation violation. The authorities from Virginia have three business days to collect him from the DC Jail.

There were five defendants involved in domestic violence matters. The charges include destruction of property, violation of a protection order, and attempted threats to do bodily harm. One defendant was also a fugitive of justice from Maryland, with an underlying charge of simple assault. Three were given an order to not engage in harassing, assaulting, threatening, or stalking behavior (HATS). One was given a stay away order and a GPS monitoring device, and the last defendant was served with a Temporary Protection Order (TPO).

Judge Herrmann released two defendants charged in weapons cases. Both were given stay away orders, and one was also enrolled into HISP.

Three defendants were released in misdemeanor cases. Two defendants were given stay away orders, and one was put on pretrial supervision.

Three defendants were brought in on warrants. The warrants were all quashed, and the defendants were ordered to return to court at later dates. Two were ordered to return on Oct. 21 for status hearings, and the last defendant was ordered to return on March 19, 2021. He was also given a stay away order.

There were four fugitives from justice, and all four were released and ordered to surrender to the respective jurisdictions holding the warrants. Two are fugitives from Virginia and two are from Maryland. 

Five final defendants were released with conditions including stay away orders, supervision under PSA and drug and alcohol assessments if deemed necessary by pretrial.