Case Acquitted: Homicide Defendant Acquitted of All Charges After Six Years in Jail

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This case was acquitted.

On Oct. 17, a jury delivered a not-guilty verdict on all charges before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun following a 2017 homicide trial.

Cedric Alexander, also known as Tony White, 52, was charged with first-degree murder while armed, robbery while armed, two counts of possession during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license outside the home or place of business with a prior felony for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Daquan Hooks on the 1900 block of 13th Street, SE on March 23, 2017.

After deliberating for almost three days, the jury delivered a not-guilty verdict for all charges against Alexander. He’s been jailed for nearly six years.

The prosecution relied heavily on cell phone records showing Alexander was the last person to speak to Hooks before his death, and that Alexander deleted text messages and phone calls from the day of the murder.

The prosecutors also revealed one of Alexander’s recorded jail calls with his ex-wife.

“I’m gonna have to answer to God for that,”Alexander said on the call, to which the prosecutor said one would only say this if “something extremely serious happened”.

In their closing statement, the prosecution told the jury there was a “clear picture” of who committed this crime, arguing that Alexander was the only person who could’ve done it.

The defense highlighted the lack of ballistics or DNA evidence, and challenged the credibility of witnesses from Alexander’s family who were estranged from the defendant.

In his closing statement, Alexander’s attorney, Sellano Simmons, emphasized the prosecution’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and insisted that they failed to do so.

Following the verdict, Alexander was released from custody.

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