Judge Holds Five Out of 26 Defendants During Initial Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 30, 2020
Featured |

On July 30, DC Superior Court Judge James Crowell released 21 defendants and held five defendants during initial hearings.

The judge decided to hold a murder defendant, a woman charged with assaulting a police officer, two domestic violence defendants at the DC Jail. Another man was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Carlo General, 20, allegedly shot an 11-year-old child on the 1400 block of Cedar Street, SE on July 4. He was charged with first-degree murder while armed on July 30. 

General is also a fugitive from Virginia and was issued multiple bench warrants for not appearing before court in a 2019 case in which he was charged with carrying a pistol without a license.

The prosecution said General picked up his murder case while on supervision by the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) and asked that he be held.

Judge Crowell found there was probable cause for the murder. He held the defendant in both his murder and fugitive cases.

General’s next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19.

Another defendant charged with assault on a police officer and destruction of property less than $1,000 was released. Jamiah Gray, 29, also known as Jamika Gray, was arrested on July 29 after she allegedly spat on a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer and dented his cruiser.

The prosecution said that Gray is also a fugitive from the state of Maryland where she was charged with assault.

Judge Crowell ordered that she be held in her fugitive case but released on her other case. Maryland has three business days to pick her up from DC Jail.

A defendant was charged with destruction of property less than $1,000 after he allegedly sprayed a fire extinguisher in an apartment on the 4600 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs, NE. He was also charged with assault and unlawful entry in a domestic violence case.

Judge Crowell decided to hold him, citing an extensive criminal history, including ten bench warrants and numerous burglary and simple assault convictions.

Another domestic violence defendant charged with simple assault, destruction of property less than $1,000, second-degree theft, and obstruction of justice was held.

Judge Crowell said the defendant violated a Civil Protection Order by assaulting the victim on July 29 and had done so repeatedly in the past. 

He said that GPS monitoring and the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP) both failed to bring the defendant into compliance.

Gabriel Gonzalez allegedly brandished a knife in front of a woman and threatened to kill her on July 29. He was charged with attempted threats to do bodily harm.

Judge Crowell decided to release him on his case, but he was then taken into the custody of ICE for another matter.

Of those released, one was given a citation and released and one had no charges brought against them by the prosecution.

The judge also released seven additional domestic violence defendants with conditions. Six defendants were given stay-away orders and one was given an order not to harass, assault, threaten, or stalk (HATS) the victim.

Four defendants charged with being fugitives from justice were all released. Two had underlying charges in Maryland and two had underlying charges in Virginia. Judge Crowell ordered them all to go to the demanding jurisdictions and turn themselves in to authorities.

Four defendants charged with felonies were also released by Judge Crowell. Three were charged with carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business and one was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. Two were given stay-away orders while the other two were ordered not to possess any firearms in DC. One of the defendants also had two additional cases and was placed on GPS monitoring by the judge.

There were three additional misdemeanor cases. All were released with either stay-away or no HATS orders.

One defendant was brought in under three bench warrants for failing to appear for his hearings. He was released with new court dates in all three cases.

A final defendant charged with a misdemeanor for second-degree theft was still hospitalized, so his hearing was continued to July 31.