Judge Finds Probable Cause for Homicide

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

On Nov. 6, a DC Superior Court judge determined there was enough evidence for a homicide case to go to trial.  

Stanley Brown, 28, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Jimmy Beynum, who was fatally shoot Jan. 23 on the 1600 block of F Street, NE. Beynum succumbed to his injuries on Jan. 29. He was 36.

Brown was on pretrial release in two misdemeanor cases and probation in a felony case when Beynum was killed. 

The prosecution questioned its witness, who is a detective with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on several exhibits, including video footage of the shooting from a house on the street where the offense occurred.

The detective verified that Brown was the individual pictured in the video footage due to his unique gait, the way his hand rested in his pocket and his distinctive green jacket. Additional evidence supporting his claim was location data from a GPS monitoring device that placed the defendant at the scene of the crime. 

The detective who testified was not the primary author of the Gerstein affidavit.

Brown’s defense attorney, Mani Golzari, raised doubt about the detective’s knowledge of the case and his credibility, probing into a disciplinary measure taken against him over an insensitive social media post. According to Golzari, the post could be perceived as racist against a minority group.

Judge Todd Edelman ruled that although the detective relied heavily on the information written in the Gernstein for his testimony, it was adequate enough to be deemed credible. The judge also determined that the combination of the video footage along with the GPS data was sufficient for a probable cause ruling.

He decided to hold Brown in the DC jail pending trial

The judge said the nature of the offense was serious, specifically the fact that it was a day time shooting that resulted in a homicide. He also cited Brown’s extensive criminal history that demonstrates an escalation in the violent nature of conduct.

Brown is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 19 for a felony status conference.

This article was written by Yasmeen McGettrick.