Defendant Pleads Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, Prosecution Drops Weapons Charge

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The defendant entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Lance Ammons, 45, was charged with second-degree murder while armed and carrying a dangerous weapon in connection to the stabbing death of 62-year-old Robert Bolich on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Aug. 22, 2019.

Ammons remained on scene for police officers and told investigators that he moved to Washington DC to “prepare for the end of the world” and that he saw the victim and “the devil took control of him,” said the lead prosecutor.

During the Nov. 9 hearing, Ammons waived his right to a trial and entered a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. With the plea, the prosecution dismissed the charge of carrying a dangerous weapon.

DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee asked Ammons several questions ensuring he was aware of what could happen if he accepted the plea.

Judge Lee pointed out that Ammons has a potential sentence of life in prison or a would stay at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, DC’s psychiatric institution, for the rest of his life. Ammons said he understood.

The prosecutor in the case read the victim impact statements from Bolich’s wife and son.

In the statements, the two described the costly amount of therapy the family has gone through and proposed that Ammons receive the maximum punishment for the violent attack he committed on such a wonderful man.

Judge Lee accepted the plea agreement from Ammons and committed him to the hospital.

Ammons next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2023.