Murder defendant, Rafeal Stevens, 40,  pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter before DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman on April 14.  Stevens was also convicted of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction for his involvement in the shooting of 50-year-old Aniekobo Umoh on Dec. Read more »

DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman denied a homicide defendant’s request for release on Jan. Read more »

DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan denied a homicide defendant’s motion for release on Dec. Read more »

A jury in DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein’s courtroom was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges in a murder trial on Nov. Read more »

Parties presented conflicting accounts of the fatal interaction between the victim and the defendant in their closing arguments in a murder trial before DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein on Nov. Read more »

The defense presented their only witness, the defendant, to tell his side of the story in a murder trial in front of DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein on Nov. Read more »

On day two of a murder trial, the prosecution built its argument with surveillance footage of the incident and offering testimony from four witnesses before DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein on Nov. Read more »

Prosecutors displayed a homicide defendant's text message that read, "I might go to jail,” to a jury before DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein on Nov. Read more »

DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan denied a defendant’s request to exclude, or limit, the medical examiner’s testimony during trial in a Nov. Read more »

During a hearing on Oct. Read more »

An attorney for a homicide defendant argued that photos and a video the prosecution planned to use in trial were too upsetting to show to a jury in a hearing before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan on Oct. Read more »

One defendant in a fatal shooting case filed a motion to continue trial during an Oct. Read more »

One of two homicide co-defendants waived his rights to independently test DNA evidence recovered from a crime scene based on two search warrants before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan a Sept. Read more »

DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan told parties she needed additional time to reconsider a co-defendant’s motion to sever during an Aug. Read more »

On April 9, DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan denied a homicide defendant’s request to sever his case from a co-defendant.  Rafeal Stevens, 39, and Jermall Johnson, 40, are charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed, attempted robbery - felony murder, five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm, among other charges, for their alleged involvement in the shooting death of 50-year-old Aniekobo Umoh on Dec. Read more »