DC Superior Court Judge Jennifer Di Toro sentenced a domestic stabbing defendant to a probationary sentence with suspended prison time at a hearing on Aug. 18.
Daquan Evans, 28, pleaded guilty on June 16 to assault with a dangerous weapon for his involvement in a domestic stabbing offense that occurred on May 1 on the 2100 block of First Street, SW. The victim sustained two stab wounds to his shoulder and back.
At sentencing, both the prosecutor and Evans’ attorney, Christopher Young, described the incident as complicated.
The prosecutor read a written impact statement from the victim that noted his intimate and sexual relationship with Evans. “You knew me,” the victim wrote to Evans, “I had trusted you for more than 10 years.”
In the statement, the victim wondered if Evans’ childhood trauma followed him into adulthood but emphasized that he did not cause Evans’ past pain. The victim wrote to Evans that he felt “compassion for the child you were, without excusing the man you became.”
“You stabbed me in the arm and then in the back,” the victim’s statement said, but emphasized that “the physical wounds were only the beginning.”
The prosecutor noted that Evans stabbed a longtime romantic partner, someone who trusted him and knew him well, and that the victim no longer felt safe in his home. As a result, the prosecutor requested Evans serve 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Young highlighted that Evans had no criminal history, accepted responsibility through a plea deal early in his case, and understood the severity of his actions.
“He did what he did, he understands what he did,” Young asserted.
Young noted that when Evans committed the offense, he was in town from New York on a weekend visit. Evans had already served almost four months in the DC Jail, Young emphasized, and asked for a probationary sentence he could serve in New York where he had a job lined up.
“He’s been punished,” and “probation is not a cake walk,” Young said.
“I take full responsibility,” Evans said. “I was wrong for taking matters into my own hands.”
Evans expressed his desire to be a productive member of society. “I’m not a criminal, I’m not a flight risk,” he declared. If Judge Di Toro did not trust Evans to return to New York, he said he would stay in a DC shelter.
“That person was genuinely harmed,” emphasized Judge Di Toro. She sentenced Evans to 18 months in prison, all suspended but the time he already served, with 12 months of probation. The judge allowed Evans to transfer his probation to New York but reminded him that he must remain in DC until the transfer is complete.
In addition, Evans must complete a mental health assessment, follow treatment recommendations, enroll in an anger management course, and stay away from the victim.
No further dates were set.
