DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz found probable cause two suspects committed murder and denied the release of one in a co-defendant case during a preliminary hearing June 16.
Alphonso Walker, 39, and Rico Barnes, 37, are charged with first-degree murder while armed for their alleged involvement in the fatal beating and strangulation of 40-year-old Syed Hussain on Feb. 11, on the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue, NW.
Barnes’ attorney, Carrie Weletz, indicated that Barnes would waive his preliminary hearing in order to continue considering a pre-preliminary plea offer extended to both defendants. If accepted, each would plead guilty to first-degree murder while armed in exchange for a sentence between 30-to-35 years and for the prosecution to not indict on any other related charges.
For Barnes, prosecutors also agreed to not indict on unrelated charges from a Feb. 13 incident.
Walker declined the plea offer and elected to proceed with his preliminary hearing.
The prosecution called a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) lead detective on the case who testified she recovered surveillance video from the crime scene and nearby businesses. The footage depicts two suspects allegedly following Hussain to his apartment building, luring him outside, beating him, and coercing him to bring them back into the building.
Approximately an hour later, the suspects are pictured leaving the victim’s residence with a bike and other items belonging to Hussain.
The detective said that Walker was wearing a GPS tracking device at the time of the offense. On examination of the device’s data, the detective alleged that Walker’s movements aligned with those of the suspects.
On cross-examination, Walker’s attorney Kevin O’Sullivan, pointed out an apparent discrepancy in Walker’s GPS data showing that he allegedly was not at the offense location the entire time the suspects were. Instead, it depicts him at the street behind the offense location.
Further, the detective testified that clothing worn by the suspects appeared to resemble what Walker was reportedly seen wearing the day after Hussain’s murder. The detective said this was recorded on surveillance video recorded by Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) that monitors defendant compliance with release conditions.
On cross-examination the detective confirmed that DNA evidence, fingerprints, cell phone tracking, and witness identification could not tie Walker to the offense.
O’Sullivan noted that Walker was arrested twice after the offense date for small thefts, including fare evasion and stealing food. He argued Walker would not have committed these offenses if he possessed the items the suspects were said to steal.
The prosecution said that it is irrelevant if the defendants are “bad businessmen” and that if he was struggling for money, there would have been “no reason for [Walker] to be at these nice condo buildings,” where the murder occurred.
O’Sullivan claimed that a key witness included in the arrest warrant was not credible given the person’s mental health challenges. The prosecution elected to exclude all evidence and identifications associated with this witness for purposes of the preliminary hearing.
O’Sullivan asked the detective what the importance of a thorough investigation is and whether she was aware that this could cause an innocent person to be wrongfully convicted. Despite objections from the prosecution, Judge Kravitz allowed the questioning on the basis that the prosecution is “asking to detain someone for two years.”
Judge Kravitz asked, “Why can’t his lawyer ask this?”
O’Sullivan argued that the “whole issue here is identity,” and that the GPS data is not sufficient to identify Walker as one of the suspects and to find probable cause.
However, Judge Kravitz ultimately found probable cause and ruled to hold Walker.
Meanwhile, Barnes remains in jail. A hearing to determine his release status is scheduled for June 17.
Both parties will reconvene on Aug 28.
