Judge Dismisses Murder Case After Not Finding Probable Cause

By D.C. Witness Staff - November 6, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A murder defendant’s case was dismissed after a DC Superior Court judge ruled that the prosecution did not have enough evidence to go to trial. 

Jonathan Jenkins, 29, was charged with second-degree murder while armed in the death of 25-year-old Richard Mitchell, who was fatally shot May 31 on the 2500 block of Elvans Road, SE. 

“What I’ve been wrestling with is that I’ve had all these weak cases where I was able to find probable cause,” said Judge Todd Edelman. “But I can’t reach that conclusion based on this evidence.” 

Most of the prosecution’s evidence was based on a primary witness who was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crime, has severe mental health issues and is currently on probation with a pending misdemeanor case.

According to court documents, the witness said she personally does not like Jenkins and repeatedly asked for the reward for giving information to the Metropolitan Police Department. 

“The credibility issues of the witness are substantial, and she gives a story that is significantly problematic,” said Judge Edelman. 

Another major issue included the witness’s conflicting accounts about the events leading to the homicide and if the victim was carrying a firearm on the day of his death.

MPD officers recovered live ammunition from the crime scene. They also found a spring belonging to a gun in Mitchell’s waistband. But, officers were not able to recover a firearm from him. 

“The only evidence the government has is Witness 6,” said Jenkins’ defense attorney, Madalyn Harvey . “And Witness 6 is seriously problematic.” 

Harvey asked the detective about the possibility of a different suspect who could be responsible for the homicide, due to additional evidence that does not match the narrative that Jenkins was the perpetrator. 

During a bench conference, Harvey turned over information about a person whose phone was found at the scene of the crime. According to a MPD detective, the phone was never seriously pursued. 

“While my client sat in jail, nothing has been done to investigate anyone else,” she said. 

The detective said he did not know why MPD did not go beyond surveillance tapes to corroborate the witness’s story and why the phone was overlooked. 

“We have the fact now that another individual has been identified,” said Judge Edelman. “The primary evidence comes from a witness who has a personal and interest bias.”

An order to release Jenkins from the DC Jail was filed on Nov. 5. The case against him was also dismissed.

Sierra Robbins wrote this article.