Judge Cancels Trial After Man Pleaded Guilty to 2018 Fatal Shooting

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A homicide defendant who had been previously set to go to trial in late March chose to take a plea deal instead.

Marcus Whitaker was charged with second-degree murder while armed in the shooting of David Hart on July 28, 2018.

Last August, DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson set aside March 31 through April 18 for the 31-year-old defendant’s trial. But on Dec. 1, Whitaker accepted an offer from the prosecution to plead down to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed.

According to court documents, the plea deal includes an agreement between parties that a 12-year prison sentence would be appropriate for this case.

The prosecutor also dropped his charges of unlawful posession of a firearm with a prior conviction and posession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Hart was 22-years-old when he was shot multiple times on the 4300 block of 4th Street, SE. Three days later, police identified Whitaker as their suspect. He was not apprehended until May 8, 2019.

Judge Milton Lee cancelled the upcoming trial dates and scheduled Whitaker to be sentenced on Feb. 11.

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