Judge Gives Prosecution More Time for DNA Testing

By D.C. Witness Staff - April 12, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

During a status hearing April 11, the prosecution in a murder case requested more time to receive DNA results.

Co-defendants Robert Washington and Derrick Hart are charged with first-degree murder while armed for their alleged role in the shooting of 22-year-old Maleak Coffin on the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr Avenue, SE in 2017. Both men are being held without bail.

The prosecution told the court that they would not be able to receive and file the DNA results by April 15. As a result, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman gave the prosecution more time to obtain the results and to see if a plea offer would be extended.

Judge Edelman scheduled a status hearing on May 17.

According to court documents, the shooting allegedly occurred after several young men parted ways at a mini-mart near the crime scene. Surveillance footage shows Hart, 23, running down an ally with a gun and shooting at a vehicle that was stopped at a gas station.

Footage also shows Washington, 21, who was driving in the opposite direction, make a U-turn after the initial shots and drive up to the stopped vehicle, documents stated. Additional shots were fired at the stopped vehicle, but it is unclear in the footage if the shots came from Washington’s car.