DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz dismissed a first-degree murder charge but found probable cause for second-degree murder in a preliminary hearing on June 15.
Leon Bryant, 36, is now charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing of Jonathan Simmons-Miller, 31, on the 700 block of V Street, NW on July 31, 2025.
Bryant was initially charged with first-degree murder while armed. However, following the testimony of the lead Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective on this case, the defense motioned to dismiss all charges.
While Judge Kravitz agreed that the detective’s testimony did not provide sufficient evidence to show that there was probable cause for first-degree murder, he found probable cause for the lesser offense of second-degree murder.
The lead detective’s testimony continued from a hearing on May 4. He reviewed surveillance footage from security cameras in the area. In the footage, the detective identified Simmons-Miller wearing white while having a conversation with the suspect, who was dressed in black.
Prosecutors acknowledged that the footage is unclear, but argued that the suspect can be seen stabbing the victim. After the stabbing, the footage shows the victim running through a parking lot before collapsing, while the suspect runs out of the frame.
The prosecution presented footage a person the detective identified as Bryant that had been captured on a police body-worn camera hours before the stabbing. The detective said Bryant had been stopped by MPD for fare evasion on a Metrobus. In the footage, the detective noted Bryant’s distinctive tattoos and claimed his shoes and all black clothes were similar to the suspect’s.
The detective also described video surveillance of a location near the scene, taken 40 minutes before the crime, that showed the suspect wearing all black, a cell phone that allegedly matched the description of a device registered to Bryant, and a forearm tattoo reportedly similar to Bryant’s.
According to the detective, a witness identified Bryant as the suspect from that surveillance footage. The witness claimed to be familiar with Bryant, having reportedly seen him in person a week or two before the stabbing.
The detective mentioned a witness in the alley at the time of the stabbing, but was not facing the suspect or the victim and did not see the murder.
A Be On the Lookout (BOLO), alert created by the detective, was presented. It yielded the arrest of an individual who was later determined not to match the suspect’s description. According to the detective, that individual was “heavier and much taller” than the person captured on surveillance.
The prosecution also reviewed the autopsy report, in which a medical examiner described Simmons-Miller’s extensive injuries from a “stab wound to the abdomen.”
Defense attorney Christen Romero-Phillips then cross-examined the detective.
According to Romero-Phillips, seven witnesses were contacted in the investigation, but only one identified Bryant. The detective said that the identification was not from the scene of the incident; it was from surveillance footage taken 40 minutes before the crime at a separate location.
The witness who identified Bryant had been asked about him by detectives in a previous investigation and requested reward money for the information, according to the lead detective. Romero- Phillips argued gaining that potential benefit tainted the identification.
Romero-Phillips also questioned the officer about physical evidence. He told the court that no clothing or property belonging to the suspect was ever recovered. Several items were found near Simmons-Miller’s body, but the detective said that none of them likely matched Bryant’s DNA.
A DNA mixture was found on Simmons-Miller’s undershirt, which may have included Bryant’s DNA, the detective said. Philips asked him if he could prove that Bryant’s DNA was on the shirt. The detective said he could not.
As for a motive, the lead detective said there was no evidence that Bryant and Simmons-Miller knew each other or ever interacted and there was no evidence of any person having a motive to kill Simmons-Miller.
In response the prosecutor noted the clothing worn by Bryant reportedly matched the suspect’s No other person in the area wore similar clothing, he said.
The prosecutor asked asked if the owner of the established where Bryant was identified was interviewed. The detective said that he personally spoke to the owner who was familiar with Bryant, but was not asked to identify Bryant using the footage.
Following the detective’s testimony, Romero- Phillips requested Judge Kravitz dismiss all charges. She argued that the evidence against Bryant did not show probable cause because no witness could identify him at the scene of the crime nor was there any evidence of premeditation.
The prosecutor countered that an identification was made 40 minutes before the crime of someone wearing similar clothing to Bryant’s. The suspect also waited until Simmons-Miller looked away before allegedly stabbing him, which the prosecutors claimed showed premeditation.
Judge Kravitz agreed with the prosecution that the identification was sufficient, but did not find probable cause for premeditation. Thus, he dismissed the first-degree murder charge, but found probable cause for second-degree murder.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Kravitz denied Romero-Phillips’ request for Bryant’s release. However, he was open to review the matter.
Parties are slated to reconvene on July 17.
