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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- May 19, 2022
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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Victims
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A defendant pleaded guilty to killing a man in 2019 and assaulting two others in 2020.
Andre Dubose was initially charged with first-degree murder while armed for beating 37-year-old Ahmad Simms to death with a wooden board and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for attacking his aunt and uncle with an iron bed frame. Dubose, 32, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon during his most recent hearing on May 19.
“The defendant was not legally justified in using a wooden board to hit the decedent,” court documents read. Simms died from his injuries that same day.
In June 2020, almost one year after he was arrested and charged with murder, Dubose was released from DC Jail into home confinement under the High Intensity Supervision Program. He lived with his aunt and uncle until the following December, when he was rearrested and returned to DC Jail for assaulting them.
The victims told detectives that Dubose had appeared to be on an unknown substance. They barricaded themselves in their bedroom with the iron bed frame to keep Dubose out. Dubose eventually broke through the barricade and “forced his way into a bedroom to hit a 72-year-old man and his wife with a metal bed frame,” according to court documents read by the prosecutor during the hearing.
Simms’ sister took the opportunity to address the court in a brief statement.
“This man, Andre Debose, committed a lot of violence in our community,” she said. She asked DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan not to accept the plea offer because of the violent nature of the offenses.
“I know that there is nothing that can bring your brother back to you,” Judge Raffinan said, explaining that she would accept the plea, but the sister’s statements would contribute to her decision in sentencing.
As part of the pre-indictment plea offer, the parties agreed to recommend eight years in prison for the homicide charge and six years in prison for each of the assault charges. These will be served concurrently, meaning Dubose will be in prison for a maximum of eight years if the judge adopts the recommendation.
Dubose is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5.