Judge Holds Defendant After Probation Violation

By D.C. Witness Staff - August 12, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Probation | Suspects |

On Aug. 12, a DC Superior Court judge held a defendant who violated the terms of his probation and picked up new charges.

The 40-year-old defendant was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and contempt on Dec. 4, 2019. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Dec. 18, 2019, and received a 28-month sentence for the assault charge, 24 months were suspended. He also received two months of incarceration for the contempt charge. Judge Michael O’Keefe set these sentences to run consecutively to each other He also sentenced the defendant to two years of probation.

A representative from the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) said the defendant never reported to the agency after being released.

In addition to not reporting to CSOSA, the defendant also picked up a domestic violence charge on July 23 for allegedly violating a Court Protective Order (CPO.)

Defense attorney Alvin Thomas said his client has made multiple attempts to call CSOSA, but no one from the agency ever got back to him. He also said his client is homeless and has been giving CSOSA a relative’s phone number to call.

The representative said the agency has tried to get back to him, but that he is never with the relative when they have attempted to call. Both CSOSA and the prosecution requested that the defendant’s probation is revoked.

Judge Juliet McKenna decided to hold the defendant pending the resolution of his new domestic violence case.

She said the hold was an alternative to revoking his probation, since she had no evidence to corroborate the defense’s explanation for his lack of reporting.

Judge McKenna placed a $2,500 cash bond on the defendant’s hold, and scheduled another hearing to evaluate his probation on Aug. 26.