Judge Issues 1 Bench Warrant During Pretrial, Probation Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - October 8, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Probation | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge presided over nine pretrial and probation show cause hearings on Oct. 8.

Judge Julie Becker issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Steven Foreman due to his lack of compliance with the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA.) 

Foreman, 53, is charged with second-degree theft, receiving stolen property, destruction of property less than $1,000, possession of Suboxone, a prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction, and possession of marijuana in three different cases.

According to the PSA, Foreman has been a loss of contact and never reported for a mental health assessment.

Foreman’s attorney, Daniel Kovler, asked Judge Becker not to issue a bench warrant because his charges weren’t for violent offenses. However, the prosecution objected to that because Foreman was recently re-arrested and hasn’t made any efforts to comply with his release conditions. 

Judge Becker discharged Tumarcus Hawkins and Phyllis Johnson’s show cause hearings because they have come into compliance with their release conditions.

Hawkins, 23 is serving one year on probation for carrying a pistol without a license outside home or business. He took a plea deal earlier this year, so his other charges of possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device committed during release, possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition would be dropped. 

According to the Court Services Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), Hawkins has been maintaining contact with them and has had no re-arrests. 

Phyllis Johnson is charged with attempted threats to do bodily harm and simple assault.

The PSA reported that Johnson, 59, has been compliant with her release conditions. Judge Becker told her to make sure to continue abiding by the stay away order she received.

Judge Becker decided to continue two hearings due to new arrests for Khristian Champ and Brian Heath. 

Champ, 21, is serving three years of probation for carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business. 

Originally, he was also charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unlawful ammunition. However, those charges were dropped in a plea agreement. 

Champ was not present for his show cause hearing because he is being held due to a re-arrest. 

His attorney, Charles Allen, asked Judge Becker to continue the hearing in light of his new case.

Judge Becker scheduled Champ’s next hearing for Dec. 15. 

Heath, 49, is currently on probation for attempted assault with a knife from 2015. He was recently re-arrested but did show up to his show cause hearing. 

Judge Becker scheduled Heath’s next hearing on March 8, so that it could trail his new case.

Judge Becker continued Lawrence Brown and Delroy McGann’s hearings to give their attorneys time to find them.

Brown, 53, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. According to court documents, Brown allegedly stabbed the left side of a man’s abdomen on the 3600 block of 13th Street, NW on May 31. 

Defense attorney Elizabeth Weller said she recently hasn’t been able to contact her client but does know he has an unstable living situation. She asked Judge Becker to continue the hearing for a week to give her time to get in contact with her client.

Judge Becker granted the request and scheduled Brown’s next hearing for Oct. 20. 

McGann, 26, is charged with attempted threats to do bodily harm and simple assault. 

McGann allegedly punched a restaurant owner on the head and threatened to shoot and stab him on Aug. 29 on the 2000 block of 18th Street, NW. 

The PSA said that McGann has never reported to them since his release. 

Defense attorney Claudine Harris does not have her client’s contact information. She asked for time to get in contact with him. The prosecution reserved their bench warrant rights.

Judge Becker scheduled McGann’s next hearing for Oct. 22. 

Judge Becker continued a hearing for a weapons defendant in order to give time for the parties to agree on a plea deal.

Amari Johnson is charged with possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. 

According to the PSA, Johnson, 20, has not been in compliance with his release conditions and has not gotten his GPS monitor installed. 

The prosecution asked for Johnson to be stepped back due to his noncompliance.

“He keeps coming back because he thinks there’s no repercussions,” the prosecutor said. 

However, with a plea agreement in the works, Judge Becker decided to hold off on stepping him back. Instead, she opted to continue the case for two weeks to see if a plea agreement can be finalized. 

“I have a lot of concerns over if you’re gonna do any better on probation based on your performance on release,” Julie Becker said to Johnson. “I’m continuing this for two weeks. If there’s a plea agreement, we can proceed. If not then he will be stepped back unless something drastic changes.”

Judge Becker scheduled Johnson’s next hearing for Oct. 19. 

Judge Becker continued a defendant’s hearing and scheduled a sentencing date.

Maurice Beckham pleaded guilty to fleeing a law enforcement, and destruction of property less than $1,000 back in February. 

According to the PSA, Beckham, 19, has been in compliance with his release conditions. 

Judge Becker advised Beckham to keep complying. She scheduled Beckham’s sentencing for Oct. 27.