Judge Grants Prosecution’s Request to Extend Indictment Deadline in Homicide Case

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On June 5, DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan granted the prosecution’s motion to extend the indictment deadline in a second-degree murder case.

Gerald Thomas, 20, is charged with allegedly shooting and killing 20-year-old Dasha Cleary on Jan. 27, 2022 on the 4400 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW.

Currently, Thomas is awaiting indictment from a grand jury to determine whether the case will go to trial.

Under D.C. code 23-102, the prosecution typically has nine months to return an indictment in a felony case.

However, due to several delays, the indictment deadline in this case is now set over fifteen months after Thomas’s initial presentment hearing on Feb. 19, 2022.

The deadline is now set to July 6, after Judge Raffinan granted the prosecution’s motion over defense objections.

According to Thomas’s defense attorney, Aubrey Dillon, the defendant acted in self-defense during the shooting, and the prosecution confirmed that Thomas’s alleged motive was included in the grand jury’s truth-seeking mission.

Both the prosecution and the defense acknowledged that the number of witnesses and individuals present for the incident has made the case more complicated and potentially contributed to the delays in returning an indictment.

Thomas was originally released from confinement on Apr. 8, 2022, as part of Pretrial Services’ High Intensity Supervision Program, though his conditions of release have since been relaxed to include only monthly random drug testing and a curfew from 10 pm to 6 am.

A Pretrial Services Agent appeared virtually at the hearing to confirm that Thomas was in compliance with his current release conditions.

The defendant’s next hearing has been scheduled for July 14.

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