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By
Marissa Stambaugh
- December 2, 2024
Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan presided over a detective’s testimony for the prosecution in a preliminary hearing on Nov. 27.
Juan Adams, 39, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in an incident that occurred on the 1700 block of Benning Road NE on Dec. 2, 2023 which resulted in the death of 38-year-old Michael Hansley.
A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective gave his testimony and an in court identification of Adams as the individual seen within the surveillance videos surrounding the incident scene.
The detective claimed that the defendant and victim seemingly knew each other based on witness testimonies and that Hansley had allegedly bought narcotics from Adams. After a conflict about the narcotics deal, witnesses stated that Hansley confronted Adams, and things turned violent.
Defense attorney Rachel Cicurel, questioned the in-court identification as the detective had only seen the defendant in video surveillance. Cicurel noted he was not the one to conduct the arrest and that there were two suspects.
In surveillance footage shown in court, three individuals can be seen approaching Hansley on the sidewalk. An individual, who is thought to be Adams within the video, stretches his hand toward Hansley, who then slumps over off his scooter.
Cicurel again questioned the legitimacy of the footage because of how far the individuals are from the camera, and the quality is poor.
Due to time constraints, the detective was unable to conclude his testimony.
Parties are set to reconvene Dec. 3.