DC’s Not Guilty Verdicts

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 31, 2018
Featured | Homicides | Infographics | Suspects |

Although the number of not guilty verdicts has been slim over the years, there have been seven people found innocent of murder in Washington, DC since 2016.

As of July 31, four cases resulted in not guilty findings in 2018, two not guilty verdicts were rendered in 2017 and one in 2016. Ninety-seven homicide cases have reached a verdict in DC Superior Court since 2016, according to D.C. Witness data.

An overview of each case, presented below, details the charge and when the defendant was deemed not guilty.

On June 28, Andre Joyner was found not guilty of second-degree murder while armed for the fatal stabbing of 31-year-old Jamie Washington. However, Joyner, 27, was found guilty of tampering with evidence for getting rid of his clothes from the night of the murder.

During his trial, Joyner’s defense attempted to shift the blame to Joyner’s ex-girlfriend, who was a cooperating witness. Joyner’s attorney claimed the girlfriend killed Washington because she was angry, under the influence of alcohol and motivated by the belief that Washington stole her laptop.

On April 12, about a week and a half after Vernon Hedrick‘s murder trial began, a jury found him not guilty for the 2014 shooting death of 26-year-old Titus Jackson.

According to Hedrick’s defense, the prosecution charged the wrong man with first-degree murder while armed. Hedrick’s attorney said one of the prosecution’s witnesses told detectives multiple stories over the course of three interviews, which showed he was actually the killer. It’s unclear if the witness was ever charged with Jackson’s murder.

Hedrick is still being held, serving an accumulated four year sentence for two unrelated cases.

On March 22, a jury found Harold Marshall not guilty for the fatal stabbing of Tyrone Moore.

Marshall’s defense argued that he was defending his sister, who was in an abusive relationship with Moore.

Jurors found reasonable doubt that Marshall maliciously killed Moore.

On March 8, a jury found Demetrius Brandon, 30, not guilty of murder or possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Marcus Manor.

Brandon was charged with first-degree murder while armed for assisting Kevin Chase in killing his sister’s abusive ex-boyfriend.  On March 12, Chase’s case resulted in a mistrial. He is scheduled for a retrial on Jan. 29, 2019.

On March 30, 2017, a jury found 21-year-old Dujuan Garris not guilty of shooting and killing 27-year-old James Anderson in 2015.

Garris’ defense suggested a drug gang was at fault for Anderson’s murder and claimed negligence on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department for not wearing gloves while handling evidence.

During Garris’ trial, the defense revealed that police failed to disclose information about other potential suspects.

In 2017, Rashad Lamont Allen was found not guilty for the shooting death of 32-year-old David Troy Simmons in 2015.

Allen’s defense argued, during a two-week trial, that Allen could not be the shooter because police did not recover a gun or DNA evidence. Allen admitted to being at the scene, but defense counsel said the shooter had to have been someone else. In addition, no witnesses ever testified to seeing Allen with a gun.

Herbert Hines was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed for the 2015 stabbing death of 24-year-old Stephon Clark. After a nine-day trial, a jury found Hines not guilty of any murder charges on September 30, 2016.

Hines was the only homicide defendant found not guilty in 2016.

Thamar Bailey and Owen Meech contributed to this report.