Controversy about a police search of a car that was a crime scene was argued during a motions hearing before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Sept. 23.
Jerrell Smith, 33, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, and carrying a dangerous weapon outside the home for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal stabbing that took place on June 2, 2023. Court documents are not clear on where the incident occurred but police responded at the United Medical Center on the 1300 block of Southern Ave SE.
The defense, led by Hannah Claudio, raised a failure to preserve motion and stated that the car where the stabbing occurred was not properly processed by the responding officers or crime scene analysts, which could have yielded evidence beneficial to their case.
Prosecutors argued that, even though DNA evidence was not taken from the crime scene, two witnesses were able to place a person identified as Smith in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
The detective stated that he was given verbal consent to search the vehicle by its owner, but that the owner was anxious to go home and did not want the car taken away. Because of this, a cursory search was done which involved photographing the contents of the vehicle but not swabbing for prints or DNA.
Cross examination of the witness revealed conflicting information about the nature of the assault. The two witnesses in the car told the Metropolitan Police Department( MPD) that the assault had taken place in the vehicle and that they had driven the victim to the hospital, where police responded to the call. The victim, however, had told the officer that he was stabbed outside a Metro station and walked to the hospital.
Judge Ryan stated that he will need time to decide whether the case should be dismissed over this failure to preserve motion and said he would like to see how the evidence develops first.
Parties are set to reconvene on Sept. 24
