DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan and a prosecutor got into a heated exchange Oct. 15 over allowing a defense attorney additional time to get a mental evaluation done.
Isaiah Trotman, 34, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, 27 counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, 13 counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and 13 counts of kidnapping while armed.
The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a mass shooting at the Potomac Avenue Metro Station, located on the 1400 block of Potomac Avenue, SE on Feb. 1, 2023. The shooting fatally injured 64-year-old Robert Cunningham, and left three others with life-threatening injuries.
Before the hearing, the defense’s mental evaluation expert requested a 60-day extension for the mental evaluation on Trotman. The original due date for the report was Oct. 24. A prior 60-day extension was granted with no opposition from the prosecution.
The prosecution opposed the second extension, arguing that, if the report was sent late, they would not have time to review the evidence before the trial, which is slated to begin Jan. 12, 2026.
The prosecution pushed to have the report by the end of the day on Oct. 15.
Judge Ryan noted that the reason the defense had not yet submitted a notice of their expert witness was that, depending on the report of the mental exam, the defense would not need to bring the witness to trial to testify and would rely only on the report.
Judge Ryan instructed the prosecution to file a motion for what they felt they were missing.
However, the prosecution believed that a motion would not get them what they wanted quickly enough. The prosecution and Judge Ryan argued back and forth about filing a motion and spoke over each other repeatedly.
Judge Ryan agreed that the report was taking a long time, and gave the expert a deadline of Nov. 24 for their report and the defense a deadline of Dec. 5 for their response to the report.
Judge Ryan did not grant the prosecution anything, but assured that they could file a motion to get what they needed.
The trial is still scheduled for Jan. 12.
Parties are slated to reconvene Dec. 1.
