Judge Holds 9 Defendants During Initial Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 12, 2020
Featured | Homicides | Suspects |

On Sept. 11, DC Superior Court Judge Sean Staples released 39 defendants and held nine defendants in DC Jail during their initial hearings.

Eric Beasley is being held on first-degree murder charges. According to court documents, Beasley, 29, and the victim, 45-year-old David Farewell, were witnessed arguing outside of a gas station, believed to be located on the 2300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SW.

The victim left the gas station on his bicycle, and Beasley was seen following in his car. The two travelled for a short period of time before Beasley’s vehicle allegedly accelerated and swerved in the direction of Farewell, striking him near the 2100 block of Young Street, SE.

A witness at the scene said Beasley attempt to remove the victim’s body from under his car before fleeing the scene. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to a nearby hospital, where the victim was later pronounced dead.

“To suggest that the driver intended to cause harm to the biker is speculation,” Beasley’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Stein, said, claiming court documents failed to establish intent to harm, or kill Farewell. The defense requested that the judge release Beasley so he could return home where he co-parents four children.

At the time of the alleged offense, Beasley was on probation for a previous assault case but was compliant on all release conditions. Judge Staples referred to the fact that the defendant’s previous charges were violent crimes, and he could not ensure the community would be safe with the defendant’s release. Judge Staples decided to hold the defendant and scheduled a hearing for Oct. 1.

One defendant is being held on a contempt charge for violating a stay away order and violating a Temporary Protective Order (TPO). The prosecution requested she be held due to having two pending charges, both involving the same complainant.

The defendant was released on Aug. 14, after being charged with simple assault, and ordered to stay away from the victim. She violated this stay away order and was arrested again on Sept. 8. She is being held in DC Jail, and Judge Staples scheduled her next hearing for Sept. 29.

Jamaal Muhammad is charged with two cases of being a fugitive from justice, where he is wanted in Maryland for a parole violation and a probation violation. The defendant waived his right to an extradition hearing on the fugitive cases and will be held in DC Jail for three business days, where he will wait to be picked up by Maryland authorities.

Judge Staples is holding Ophelia Delonta, 60, for armed robbery. On Sept. 10, police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to a robbery on the 400 block of L Street, NW. The victim of the crime showed MPD slash marks on her back and stated that her purse was taken. 

During the hearing, the defense claimed there were identification issues with the court documents, however the prosecution stated the assault and robbery were caught on camera.

Judge Staples stated that, due to the nature of the case and since the victim received stab wounds on the lower back, he will hold Delonta in DC Jail. pending her next hearing.

Mecca Lee Bey is being held for failure to appear in court on Aug. 26. The defendant was arrested on March 5 after an undercover buy and bust operation was conducted. Lee Bey is also charged with being a fugitive from justice, where he has outstanding warrants for assault in Maryland and larceny in Virginia.

Lee Bey was advised by his defense team to waive his right to extradition hearings, so he is being held on all three cases.

John Honesty was brought before Judge Staples on two fugitive matters and a parole violation. Judge Staples decided to release him from the fugitive charges but hold him in DC Jail on account of his parole violation. 

Marcus Boomer, 38, was stopped on Sept. 10 near the 3900 block of 1st Street, SE by MPD officers, after they noticed Boomer’s front bumper of his vehicle scraping the ground. Officers ran the vehicle’s tags and discovered they did not match the vehicle’s description. 

When approaching the vehicle, officers noticed shell casings on the floorboards and an open container of alcohol. Officers also discovered a firearm in between the driver’s seat and the center console. Boomer was held on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction due to the dangerousness of the alleged offense. 

Stacy Brown, charged with failing to register as a sex offender, was held. Judge Staples released him in his new case but held him on a parole matter. Once released, Brown is ordered to register as a sex offender wtihin 24-hours.

Finally, Judge Staples held Efemena Mokedi, who is charged with second-degree theft and simple assault. Judge Staples decided to hold Mokedi, citing the violence toward the victim and he has four pending cases in DC and is out of compliance with pretrial release conditions in all of them.

Of those released, one defendant did not have charges filed against them by the prosecution, one defendant’s case was dismissed and one defendant was served a Civil Protection Order (CPO) and released.

Five additional defendants charged in domestic violence cases were released with stay-away orders.

Ten defendants, charged with being fugitives from justice from either Maryland or Virginia, were released with orders to turn themselves in to the demanding jurisdictions within 24-hours.

Ten defendants were charged with possession of controlled substances, which included marijuana, cocaine, hashish, fentanyl, suboxone, oxycodone and PCP, were also released.

Six defendants, charged with felonies, were released with various release conditions, including GPS monitoring, curfew, orders not to possess firearms or ammunition and stay-away orders.

Four additional defendants charged with misdemeanors, including simple assault, second-degree theft, assault on a police officer and possession of a prohibited weapon, were released. Three of the defendants were given stay-away orders and the other defendant was turned over to the Department of Behavioral Health for emergency mental health services.

One final defendant, brought in on a bench warrant for failing to appear at his hearing in his domestic violence case, was released with a new court date of Feb. 11, 2021.