One charge was dropped and a witness was questioned in a trial before DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman on Oct. 8.
Maurice Felder, 54, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with significant bodily injury while armed and possession of a prohibited weapon for his alleged involvement in a stabbing on the 1900 block of 7th Street, NW on Nov. 10, 2024. One individual suffered a stab to the chest.
Felder was previously charged with aggravated assault knowingly while armed. The prosecution dismissed the charge prior to the jury trial, though they did not state why.
During opening statements, the prosecution described the victim and his group of friends, claiming that the victim was “the smart one.” He stated that while the group was walking home from a night out, they passed by Felder. Someone in the group made an off-handed remark about him, which allegedly prompted Felder to follow them even though they didn’t know each other.
The prosecution claimed that a small fight broke out among Felder and the victim’s friends and that the victim tried to step in to deescalate the conflict, but that Felder didn’t back down. He claimed that Felder swung a knife at the victim, stabbing him in the chest. He argued that the victim’s thick jacket is the only reason he is still alive.
The prosecution also noted that a knife police recovered from Felder upon his arrest most probably had the victim’s DNA on it.
The prosecution said that they had a video of the incident from one of the victim’s friends, and that it would clearly show Felder as the perpetrator.
Matthew Rist, Felder’s attorney, insisted the prosecution’s opening statements would have been impressive “if anything they said was true.” Rist argued that, since the incident occurred on the victim’s 21st birthday, he could have been drunk. He said the victim tested positive for marijuana while in the hospital.
Rist said he was glad the incident was caught on video, as he believed it could depict the incident as an act of self-defense. He argued that, in the video, the victim’s friends provoked Felder repeatedly, urging another friend to join in, and that what the prosecution claimed was the victim telling Felder to “calm down” was, in reality, an “unintelligible high-pitched noise.”
Rist argued that the group was trying to incite Felder and that the things they were saying could’ve sounded threatening. “The force [Felder] used was not greater than the threat he faced that night […] it was three against one.”
Rist also noted that the victim’s jacket was open during the stabbing and that the wound was only one centimeter deep and two wide, which would not be life-threatening as the prosecution made it seem.
The prosecution called the officer who arrested Felder who testified he was patrolling the area near the incident when he was flagged down by a group regarding a stabbing.
At the hospital, the officer said he spoke to the friends of the victim and saw the video they recorded of the incident. He used the video to identify the suspect by his sports-themed hat and scarf. He said he recognized the man in the video as someone he saw while patrolling, and described him to other officers in the area.
The prosecution also showed a photo from the officer’s camera of him and another officer arresting Felder. In the photo, the defendant is wearing a similar hat and scarf that the officer previously identified.
The officer stated that they collected three items from Felder when they arrested him–the hat, the scarf, and a knife. The officer said he sent the knife to be swabbed for DNA to see if anything came up. He reported that DNA matching the victim was probably on the knife.
Due to time constraints, Rist did not cross-examine the officer; however, once he and the jury left, Rist raised concerns regarding outstanding complaints against the officer–the majority related to cases where the officer’s body-worn camera was turned off, and one was for excessive force which, Rist said, was sustained. Another complaint against the policeman was dismissed before trial.
As a result of the issues, Rist challenged the officer’s credibility as a witness.
Judge Edelman chose not to rule on the matter during the hearing
Parties are slated to reconvene Oct. 9.
