Defense Charges Negligence, Wants Dismissal in Double Homicide Case

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A prosecution request to delay a double-homicide trial was met with charges of negligence by the defense and a motion to dismiss the case. The arguments were made in a hearing on Aug. 23 before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan.

Amarii Fontanelle, 20, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and aggravated assault knowingly while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Davonte Berkley, 19, and Reginald Lamont Cooper Jr. also 19. The shooting took place on the 1300 block of Congress Street, SE on Oct. 17, 2022.

Defense attorney Kevin Mosley expressed frustration, citing a ten month period during which the prosecution was unresponsive to his requests for information about DNA, firearms, and ballistics testing evidence.

Due to what he described as “the abandonment of prosecution,” he asked the court to dismiss the case. “They can re-indict the case if they want, but they did not act with diligence.”

The prosecution argued that the delays stemmed from an inability to find a lab to test evidence but a report would be provided by Sept. 6. Further, the prosecutor said they’d had difficulty locating and confirming witnesses.

Judge Raffinan ruled that “the [prosecution] did not exercise due diligence,” however given the value of the evidence, the judge granted the prosecution’s request for delay.

Mosley requested Fontanelle be placed on GPS monitoring and home confinement due to the lengthy delay while his client was incarcerated. Judge Raffinan initially agreed, but the request was denied following a Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) representative alerting the court that Fontanelle has outstanding charges in Maryland, and he is currently being held there.

Parties are slated to reconvene Sept. 13.