In response to a murder defendant’s disciplinary issues, a judge granted July 25 defense counsel’s request for a mental competency exam.
Bernard Coleman III, 26, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, burglary, robbery while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior crime of violence for allegedly shooting his father, Bernard Coleman Jr., 43. The shooting occurred on the 4000 block of Cole Boulevard on March 17, 2017.
Coleman’s new defense counsel, Dominique Winters, who was assigned to the case after attorney Lauren Johnson withdrew, brought the disciplinary issues to the attention of DC Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe.
After a conversation at the bench, Judge Iscoe approved the exam.
A competency exam hearing is scheduled on August 12. Coleman’s murder trial is scheduled to begin on August 19.
