Four Out of 27 Cases Involve Domestic Violence During Initial Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - January 6, 2021
Featured | Homicides | Suspects |

On Jan. 5, DC Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond presided over 27 defendants during initial hearings. Of the 27 defendants presented before the judge, only four were charged in domestic violence cases.

Judge Raymond held a total of eight defendants, two of which have domestic violence charges.

Of the domestic violence defendants she held, one was charged with simple assault. The defendant, an adult male, has a pending felony case in which he is also charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance while armed.

The defendant allegedly got into an argument with a woman and held a gun to her head.

Defense counsel requested the defendant’s release, citing that the police report lacks evidence showing corroboration of the victim’s allegations. The attorney also said the defendant has been compliant with his pretrial release conditions in his other case.

Judge Raymond decided to hold the defendant, citing the seriousness of the allegations as well as the fact that his pending case also involves a firearm.

The second domestic violence defendant that the judge held was brought into court on a bench warrant for failing to appear at a hearing. The underlying charge in his case is simple assault. Judge Raymond held the defendant, saying he is out of compliance with his pretrial release conditions. The defendant was deemed a loss of contact as he never reported to get his GPS monitoring device installed.

One of two additional domestic violence defendants is charged with simple assault, violation of a Temporary Protection Order (TPO), and attempted threats to do bodily harm. The other is charged with simple assault and attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, respectively. 

Both defendants were released with stay-away orders. The second defendant was also ordered to get a GPS monitoring device installed.