Defendant Opts-Out of Remote Sentencing, Decides to Wait

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 29, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

A defendant decided not to proceed with his July 29 sentencing because it was being held remotely. Instead, he chose to wait aso he can appear in court in-person.

Shaheed Rasheed, 43,  pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon. He was initially charged with the crime after hitting his roommate in the head with a wooden mallet last December. 

By choosing to wait  until he can appear in-person, Rasheed could be waiting for an indefinite amount of time. The parties scheduled the in-person hearing for Sept. 23, but Rasheed’s attorney, Joseph Molina, made it clear that it could take longer.

“Mr. Rasheed has a right,” DC Superior Court Judge John Campbell said. “If he ‘likes to look people in the eye,’ then he has a right to do that.”

Also during the July 29 proceeding, a representative with the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) told the judge that Rasheed has been noncompliant with his release conditions.

Rasheed is currently released under the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP), but he is residing in Delaware and not in DC, which is in breach of the conditions.

Rasheed was released into HISP on April 29 after the halfway house he had been residing in was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a part of a stay-away order that prevented him from returning to the residence he shared with the victim in his offense, Rasheed had to find alternative housing. 

Rasheed said the address he had planned to stay at had turned him away, and he ended up homeless for some time. He said he went to Delaware to stay with family rather than remain homeless. 

DC Superior Court Judge John Campbell removed Rasheed from the HISP program and released him with the promise to return to court for his sentencing.