Judge Holds Defendant for Firearm Possession

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 22, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Probation | Suspects |

On July 22, a DC Superior Court judge granted the prosecution’s request to hold a defendant.

Shawn Tolbert, also known as Shawn Tobart, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction after an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) conducted a search of his apartment on May 12 and found a shotgun and a handgun.

That morning, the MPD responded to a report of shots fired near a residence in the 3600 block of 6th Street, SE. When they arrived at the scene, they found multiple shell casings, according to court documents.

Officers said the suspect sat at the back door of the building and fired the shotgun into the ground.

The MPD requested a search warrant after knocking on Tolbert’s door and seeing guns directly inside of his apartment. While those guns ended up being BB guns, the MPD found a shotgun and a handgun in his apartment. 

At the time of his arrest, Tolbert was on probation for second-degree assault and illegal possession of a firearm in Maryland. He was placed on GPS monitoring after the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from reporting to his probation officer in person.

When he was arrested, the GPS monitor was found cut off in his apartment.

Tolbert said he was under the impression that he only had to wear the monitor for a certain period of time.

Daniel Kolver, Tolbert’s attorney, requested that his client be released under home confinement with allowances to leave for work and physical therapy. Kolver said the MPD’s search of Tolbert’s apartment was “plainly illegal” and the weapons could have been owned by Tolbert’s wife.

However, Judge Renee Raymond sided with the prosecution, granting the request to hold the defendant.

She said she did not find the defendant’s GPS argument compelling, and she was especially concerned that shots were fired at two different times during early morning hours on the day of the incident.

Parties are scheduled to return to court on Aug. 3 to discuss the status of the case.