Fatal Stabbing Defendant Can Do Some Work Overtime, Weekends

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DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan permitted a change to Christian Wilkerson‘s pretrial release conditions on March 17, allowing him to perform roofing work outside his regular working hours of 7:00 a. m. to 3:00 p. m. when jobs take longer than expected or emergency situations arise.

Wilkerson, 22, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing of Rashawn Phifer, 20, on Nov. 11, 2022 on the 500 block of Riggs Road, NE.

“He has been on pre-trial release for over a year now. His record, as far as I can recall, is spotless,” said Joseph Caleb, Wilkerson’s attorney, in support of his request that Wilkerson be allowed to work extra hours. He pointed out that Wilkerson is tracked by a GPS monitoring device.

An official from the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) confirmed that Wilkerson has been compliant with release conditions. The official suggested Wilkerson’s release conditions might not need to be changed because they already say Wilkerson is allowed to leave his home “to seek employment and report to work,” as long as Wilkerson provides the time and location in advance.

The prosecution opposed changing Wilkerson’s release conditions, arguing that PSA could grant Wilkerson exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

“We’re concerned that he may not be able to have the hours pre-approved on days that are emergencies or that the job goes beyond 3:00,” Caleb said, noting that PSA is closed on weekends.

Judge Ryan changed Wilkerson’s release conditions to allow “some flexibility to address work-related emergencies that may arise.” He instructed Wilkerson to report the hours and locations of his work to PSA as soon afterward as possible so the agency can verify that information with his employer.

Parties are scheduled to reconvene on May 30.