Judge Finds Probable Cause for 1st-Degree Murder

By D.C. Witness Staff - March 31, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge ruled that there is enough evidence to bring a homicide case to trial. 

Kenneth Stewart, 59, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 54-year-old Courtney Jones on July 23, 2020, on the 2300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

During the March 29 preliminary hearing, a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective on the case testified that multiple witnesses said they saw Stewart stabbing Jones in a van on the side of the road. 

According to the detective, witnesses reported that Stewart had been “picking on” Jones throughout the day and they had multiple altercations leading up to the homicide. 

During the incident, another passenger in the van hit Stewart over the head with a glass bottle, according to the MPD detective. Witnesses differ on whether this occurred before or after the stabbing.

Defense attorney Dominique Winters questioned the credibility of those witnesses. According to Winters, one witness reported Stewart kicking Jones in a restaurant parking lot earlier in the day, but no other witnesses could confirm it. The MPD could not find any surveillance footage from the restaurant to verify the claim.  

The defense argued that the homicide was committed in self-defense.

The prosecution argued that, even if Stewart had to defend himself during the course of the incident, that doesn’t mean the homicide was done in self-defense.

Witnesses say Stewart was harassing Jones all day and threatening to kill him, which the prosecution argued supports the first-degree murder charge. 

Judge Neal Kravitz found probable cause for first-degree murder. Even though there may be “significant credibility issues” with some of the witnesses’ stories, there is still sufficient corroboration and any discrepancies would be dealt with at trial, he said. 

“There is probable cause to believe that the defendant was the initial aggressor here,” Judge Kravitz said. According to DC law, if someone is the initial aggressor, he is not entitled to use deadly force as self-defense. 

Taking into account Stewart’s long criminal history and the violent nature of the case, Judge Kravitz decided to continue holding him at DC Jail in the interest of public safety. 

Stewart’s next hearing is scheduled for May 27. 

Sasha Ridenour wrote this article.