By D.C. Witness Staff - December 3, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

A DC Superior Court judge held two out of the three defendants whose cases were heard on Dec. 3.

Judge Sherry Trafford found that the evidence against a  defendant  charged with simple assault and attempted threats to do bodily harm is enough to bring his case to trial. The defendant is accused of holding a victim down onto a bed and hitting her with a belt multiple times. A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who responded to the incident testified in court about it.

Defense Attorney Theodore Shaw said the victim is seen, on Body Worn Camera Footage, telling the officer officer “he’s trying to hit me.” However, there was also a call made later that night between the officer and the victim, in which she recanted what she said.

Shaw argued that there was no probable cause as there was no real evidence as the story of the victim continued to change and that there were three to four different stories that had yet to be proven true. 

However, the prosecutor said that the change of story wasn’t a complete alteration of what she told the officer that night. The prosecutor said the conversation during the call was a clarification of what happened.

The prosecutor also mentioned the defendant’s long criminal history which extended across three states, as well as his failure to comply with release requirements multiple times.

Judge Trafford agreed with the prosecution, declining to release the defendant because of his dangerous nature from past occurrences and his continued failure to abide by the Pretrial Services Agency conditions. 

Trafford decided to hold the defendant until his next status hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 5.

She also found probable cause in the new charges that another domestic violence defendant picked up in his case. 

The defendant’s case began on Sept. 24 when he was charged with simple assault. At the time, he was released with orders to report to the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) and stay away from the victim. Less than a month later, he was arrested again and charged with simple assault and a Civil Protection Order (CPO) violation. 

He is only being tried on the two violations of CPO and the newest assault charge as the previous one was quashed. 

In the final domestic violence case heard, parties agreed that the defendant charged with simple assault and assault on a police officer could be released into the community. 

The defendant allegedly spit on MPD officers who were trying to restrain him after he walked down a street waving his arms and speaking loudly without making sense.

The defendant, who is diagnosed with a bipolar disorder as well as a schizoaffective disorder, has been receiving treatment for mental health.

Parties recognized that, prior to the offense, he had been taking medication for his disorders and was seeking more treatment for them. He was also reporting to court sanctioned treatment but missed a meeting. According to the attorneys, when he did show up the mental health agency turned him away, and he was unable to get medication due to not having an appointment.

Judge Trafford also stated that his criminal record showed that his last criminal offense occurred six years ago.

Judge Trafford chose to release the defendant on a stay away order with the requirements that he report to pretrial services, mental health treatment, and report to the Specialized Supervision Unit (SSU), a unit that deals with defendants who are released with mental health disorders.