Judge finds probable cause against defendants in fatal 2017 shooting

By D.C. Witness Staff - January 31, 2018
Court | Homicides | Suspects |

Even though, the defense team for suspects of a 2017 murder case argued that testimony from several witnesses has been unreliable and inconsistent, a Superior Court Judge found probable cause.

Both Kevin Sorto, 20, and Victor Hernandez, 17, have been charged with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting death of 16-year-old Yoselis Regino Barrios. Barrios was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) found him and an adult male suffering from gunshot wounds on the 1300 block of Rittenhouse Street, NW.

Hernandez’s attorney, Brandi Harden, called an MPD homicide detective to the witness stand to testify about six witnesses that he interviewed following the alleged murder.

Through her line of questioning, Harden insinuated that two of the witnesses had the chance to talk to each other before speaking to the detective, potentially leading to a fabricated account.

According to the detective, a witness saw Sorto on an Instagram live video in the back seat of a moving car allegedly bragging about something he had just done.

The homicide scene involved two cars, a red four door sedan and a silver car. The detective noted that a witness in a silver vehicle intended to purchase marijuana and testified that he heard gunshots but couldn’t see exactly where they were coming from – only that the first shot was fired from a red car with four doors.

Upon further questioning of the detective, Harden revealed that one of the witnesses changed his story over the course of three interviews about which car the shooting came from.

Although the witness originally claimed that shots might have come from the sliver car, the witness later revealed that it was only an assumption and that the first shot most definitely came from the back seat of a red car. The red car was confirmed to be stolen and was later dropped off at an undisclosed location after the homicide, according to witness testimony and admission from Hernandez.

Assistant United States Attorney Tom Saunders argued the witnesses’ testimonies and text messages were consistent with the Instagram live video and a surveillance video from a nearby building.

He said witnesses confirmed that Hernandez was driving the red vehicle and Sorto had fired gunshots from the back seat, arguing the accounts from the witnesses and the stolen car were enough to find probable cause for both defendants in the crime.

Judge Ronna Beck ruled the testimonies were reliable and that probable cause was present for both defendants. Additionally, she found substantial probability that Sorto had fired the gun from the back seat of the red car.

Beck ordered Hernandez and Sorto continue to be held without bail to “ensure the safety of the community.”

A status hearing is scheduled for May 18, 2018.