Judge Denies Defense’s Request to Remove Defendant From HISP

By Alayna Stein [former] - January 27, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

During a Jan. 27 pre-trial show cause hearing, DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan denied the defense’s request to have their client’s conditions relaxed from the conditions he was ordered under the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).

Gerald Thomas, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in a shooting that left four victims injured and 20-year-old Dasha Cleary dead. The shooting occurred on Jan. 27, 2022, at a Days Inn Hotel on the 4400 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW. Thomas is currently under total home confinement and GPS monitoring for his connection to this incident. 

The prosecutor asked for Thomas to be stepped back to jail due to his recent indictment on several drug-related charges. 

However, defense attorneys Jacqueline Cadman and Aubrey Dillon argued that those indictments don’t change the facts that were presented in this case. They noted that Thomas is enrolled in school, has a job, and is going to drug treatment.

“He’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do,” stated Cadman. 

Judge Raffinan agreed with the defense’s argument that although the indictments in his other cases are important information for her to have, they don’t serve as a basis to send Thomas back to jail. 

However, Judge Raffinan decided not to modify Thomas’s conditions. She said that she’d like to see at least another 30 days of compliance from Thomas before she considers the defense’s request to have his conditions relaxed. Even then, she can’t assure them that the terms of his confinement will be modified. 

A status date was scheduled for March 28.