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By
Russell Schwartz [former]
- August 5, 2022
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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A DC Superior Court judge continued a felony status conference as the prosecution confirmed they were moving towards returning an indictment.
Marktwan Hargraves, 23, is charged with second-degree murder while armed. On July 16, 2021, members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to reports of gunshots. Upon arriving at 355 Parkland Place, SE multiple victims were found suffering from gunshot wounds. Nyiah Nicole Courtney, 6, was found suffering multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body. Despite advanced life-saving measures, the victim was pronounced dead.
The prosecution asked DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan for at least two more months to continue investigative work before returning with an indictment. The 9-month deadline for the indictment is January 2023.
The defense said that although the prosecution is within its legal limit to hold out on the indictment until then, they would prefer it be sooner.
The defense raised issue with how long Hargraves has had to wait, saying with the rising COVID-19 infection rates at the DC jail, Hargraves is being subjected to “inhumane conditions.”
The defense said the prosecution’s departure from the case is also complicating things. A new prosecutor is slated to take over the case after the current prosecutor departs.
The next status conference is scheduled for Oct. 11.