DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan granted a shooting defendant’s motion to dismiss his case on Dec. 8, after the prosecution failed to meet multiple deadlines.
Anthony Goncalves, 53, was charged with assault with intent to kill while armed against a minor, aggravated assault knowingly while armed against a minor, two counts of possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict for his alleged involvement in a shooting on Nov. 29, 2023 on the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE. A 14-year-old boy sustained nine gunshot wounds.
James Brockway, Goncalves’ attorney, originally filed a motion on Sept. 11 to suppress tangible evidence, which he claimed was illegally obtained by the prosecution. According to Brockway, the evidence was acquired from electronic monitoring of Goncalves by the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) at the time of the shooting.
Brockway argued that CSOSA ordered Goncalves to wear a GPS monitor without legal authority, and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) used GPS data from CSOSA to designate him a suspect in the incident.
Judge Ryan had allowed the prosecution to submit a written response by Sept. 26, and further granted them an extension for Nov. 10.
On Nov. 26, Brockway filed an additional request to treat the motion to suppress evidence as conceded by the prosecution, insisting that the motion to suppress is “a terminal motion,” which the prosecution failed to respond to in a timely manner. Therefore, “Goncalves further respectfully requests that the case be dismissed for want of prosecution,” Brockway argued.
During the Dec. 8 hearing, the prosecution alerted Judge Ryan that due to the suppression issue, the prosecution would not have sufficient evidence to proceed with the case, despite knowing that Goncalves “factually shot a child nine times in the back.”
The prosecution filed a motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, which would allow them to reopen the case if they are able to produce admissible evidence. However, Brockway argued it should be dismissed with prejudice.
Judge Ryan agreed with the defense, and dismissed the case with prejudice, which will prohibit the prosecution from reopening the case in the future.
Judge Ryan ordered Goncalves be released from the DC Jail.
No further dates were set.
