Judge Finds Probable Cause in January Homicide Case

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A DC Superior Court judge found probable cause in the case of a deadly January shooting in a Bellevue neighborhood residence.

Jinard Kearney, 35, is currently charged with second-degree murder while armed.

On Jan. 19, 32-year-old Darryl Hall was shot and killed in an apartment on the 4000 block of South Capitol Street, SW. An autopsy determined that he sustained two gunshot wounds to his back and one under his left armpit, according to court documents. Police believe the homicide was domestic in nature.

During Kearney’s preliminary hearing on May 3, a prosecutor called a Metropolitan Police Department detective to the witness stand and displayed photo and video evidence. He only questioned the detective for a few minutes, but defense attorney Quo Judkin‘s cross-examination took hours.

Judkins asked the detective about each witness one by one and went into great detail about the sequence of events surrounding the homicide. She argued that because there was no motive, no video footage proving her client was the last one seen with the victim, no blood spatter on the defendant and no weapon recovered, probable cause should not be found.

The prosecutor countered by pointing out witness statements that the defendant and victim were the only ones in the apartment at the time of the shooting. Clothing that did not belong to Hall was found in the apartment and video footage shows him leaving the building without clothes. The prosecutor also said the defendant was seen with a firearm earlier that day.

The defendant allegedly told a witness, “I don’t know what came over me.”

After Judge Rainey Brandt ruled that the case has enough evidence to go to trial, Judkins asked for his client’s release from DC Jail into the High Intensity Supervision Program with GPS monitoring. Judge Brandt quickly denied the request. Citing his previous convictions and pending misdemeanor cases, she said Kearney should remain detained to keep the community safe.

Kearney’s next hearing is scheduled for July 27.

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