Judge Accepts Near ‘Impossible’ Motion to Renew Plea Deal

By Ashley Fajardo Perez [former] - February 22, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Feb. 22, DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park accepted a motion to allow a non-fatal shooting defendant to reconsider a global plea offer that was previously rejected based on an argument of ineffective counsel.

Travone Henderson, 20, is charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, and destruction of property, for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting incident that occurred on May 3, 2022, on the 2400 block of Shannon Place, SE. No injuries were reported. 

On Jan. 8, Henderson’s defense attorney, Sara Kopecki, filed a motion for a hearing on effective assistance of counsel, in which she argued he should be allowed to “determine whether he was denied effective assistance of counsel during the critical stage of plea bargaining which resulted in him losing a global plea offer… he asks for the remedy of putting him back into a position where he could take the global plea offer.” 

On Feb. 22, both parties gave their final arguments regarding the motion. 

The prosecution said the defense did not meet the burden of proof, as Henderson was present in the preliminary hearing where the prosecution put on the record that going forward meant rejecting the global plea offer. 

The prosecution emphasized that Henderson’s “focus should be heightened” during the hearing as it was regarding his future. 

Kopecki said Henderson received inadequate assistance from his former defense attorney, Varsha Govindaraju. 

She explained that Henderson was dependent on Govindaraju for assistance because he lacked courtroom experience. However, Govindaraju was overwhelmed and made a mistake in this case. 

Kopecki also stated it was not Henderson’s duty to resolve the miscommunication issue about the global plea offer at the preliminary hearing. Additionally, she argued that Henderson had the right to rely on his attorney for assistance. 

Judge Park explained that he reviewed the preliminary hearing transcript and found there was no colloquy with Henderson. Colloquy refers to a discussion between a judge and a defendant to ensure that the defendant has an understanding of their rights and of court proceedings. 

Judge Park said it was difficult to say if Henderson knew that going forward with the preliminary hearing meant he was rejecting the global plea offer. 

As a result, Judge Park determined, despite the prosecution’s argument of putting the global plea offer on the record, the weight of the argument was diminished because of the lack of a colloquy with Henderson. 

Judge Park ultimately described the situation as bordering on “being impossible” and found the defense met the burden of proof. 

Judge Park accepted a motion to allow Henderson to reconsider the global plea offer that was previously rejected. 

Parties are slated to return on Feb. 28.