Judge Holds Six Out of 34 Defendants During Initial Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - August 7, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On Aug. 7, DC Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann released 28 and held six defendants in DC Jail.

Judge Herrmann held a defendant who is charged with contempt for violating a stay away order in a domestic violence case. This is the defendant’s third case with the same victim.

She decided to hold the defendant because he was unsuccessful with GPS supervision previously and was a loss of contact with the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA).

Dion Parker is charged with fugitive from justice for fleeing from Maryland, where he has a pending robbery case. 

Parker is being held so he may be extradited to Maryland. 

Judge Herrmann also held Cordell Phillips, who is charged with aggravated assault knowingly while armed with a knife. 

Gerald James was charged with two charges of tampering with his GPS monitoring device. Judge Herrmann released him on those charges, but he was held on a parole warrant.

Walter Parker was charged with attempted threats to do bodily harm and leaving after colliding. Judge Herrmann released him on the charges presented before her, but he was held in another pending federal case.

Alexander Gant-Jenkins was charged with carrying a pistol without a license outside of a home or business. Jenkins was found on a party bus along with 13 other individuals where at least four firearms were recovered. Gant-Jenkins allegedly had a firearm on his person as well as crack cocaine, Oxycodone and what appeared to be synthetic cannabinoids.

Gant-Jenkins’ defense attorney requested he be released, citing his lack of adult criminal history. Judge Herrmann decided to hold him, however, citing the drugs found on his person as well as him being under supervision in a prior juvenile matter.

Three co-defendants of Gant-Jenkins were all charged with carrying a pistol without a license outside of the home or a business and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. All were released with orders not to possess firearms in DC due to their lack of criminal history.

There were three additional domestic violence cases, and Judge Herrmann released all of them with stay-away orders from the victims and location of the incidents.

Three defendants charged with being fugitives from justice were released with orders to turn themselves into the demanding jurisdictions where they are wanted for various charges.

Five additional felony cases were heard involving possession of firearms, possession or distribution of drugs and robbery. Three were given orders not to possess firearms and two were given stay-away orders.

Five misdemeanor cases and one traffic case was presented before Judge Herrmann, and she released all defendants with various release conditions.

Two defendants were brought in on bench warrants for failing to appear for their hearings, and both were released with new hearing dates.

Two defendants, one charged with being a fugitive from justice and one with second-degree theft, were in the hospital, so Judge Herrmann re-scheduled their hearings for Aug. 8.

Of those released, six had no charges filed against them by the prosecution.