Defendant rejects plea offer

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 22, 2024
Daily Stories | Shooting | Suspects |

A shooting defendant rejected a plea offer in a preliminary hearing on Sept 19, before DC Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond.

Donnell Wells, 36, is being charged with aggravated assault knowingly while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a shooting on the 500 block of Newcomb Street SE,. The incident happened on Aug. 1, 2024, with two of the victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

According to court documents, the defendant was smoking and being loud with some of his friends when a witness came to the door and asked them to be quiet. The defendant started to yell at her. When the woman’s son came out he heard the yelling and asked the defendant to stop disrespecting his mother. During this dispute, Wells reached for a gun, and the mother yelled “he has a gun”, while her and the son wrestled for possession over the gun.

The mother said she also saw a third individual enter the apartment and get shot. When Wells broke free, the mother ran back into her apartment. The son suffered a gunshot wound to his left thorax and required surgery. The third individual suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of his neck.

At the hearing, Brennan Burrell, Wells’s attorney, told Judge Raymond that the defense intended on rejecting the plea deal.

The deal required Wells to plead guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon, in exchange for dismissing the indictment on greater charges.

Burrell said the defense was ready to move forward with proceedings.

The prosecution called one of the lead detectives, who identified Wells as the defenda​​nt and affirmed everything in the search warra​nt was honest and true.

Under cross-examination, when the defense questioned the consistency of the victims’ testimonies,

According to the detective, one victim said the defendant “didn’t aim it (the gun) good.”

The mother told the detective that she was unsure of who shot her son, but her son believes it was one of the defendants’ friends in the apartment at the time of the shooting.

Additionally, the detective said he was unaware of how the landowner saw the three victims with firearms before reaching the apartment. The third individual refused to talk to any officers.

Despite the defense’s attempts to show the inconsistency between all victims the night of the shooting, Judge Raymond ruled there was still probable cause based on the prosecution presenting strong physical evidence.

Parties are set to reconvene Oct. 11.