Co-defendants Plead Guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter

By D.C. Witness Staff - June 21, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

During a status hearing June 21, two defendants in a murder trial pleaded guilty to murder.

Codefendants Robert Washington, 22, and Derrick Hart, 23, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and voluntary manslaughter, respectively, for their roles in the shooting of 22-year-old Maleak Coffin. The shooting occurred on the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE on Dec. 23, 2017.

DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman said he wasn’t going to rule on the plea offer, which stipulates a sentencing range between 5-8 years in prison, until sentencing. He said he is planning to hear more from counsel and family members before he makes a decision.

Judge Edelman also said that if he decides a 5-8 year sentence range is inappropriate, he would allow the defendants to reconsider whether they want to plead guilty.

Coffin’s mother told Judge Edelman that the plea agreements presented to both defendants were not severe enough. She said a video of the incident showed the defendants willfully and intentionally killed her son. “This is not justice,” she said.

According to court documents, officers of the Metropolitan Police Department found Coffin inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the hospital three days later.

Surveillance footage shows Hart exit a gas station and proceed to shoot at Coffin and another individual. The footage also shows Washington driving a Lexus near Coffin’s stopped vehicle, where he began to fire shots at Coffin’s car.

Hart and Washington are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 20.