Judge Issues 3 Bench Warrants, Detains 1 Defendant for Show Cause Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 10, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Documents | Homicides | Probation | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge issued three bench warrants, detained one defendant, terminated two probations and released five individuals during pretrial and probation show cause hearings on Sept. 10.

Judge Michael O’Keefe issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Rosalinda Lopez, who is charged with simple assault. Lopez was supposed to contact the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) once a week and verify her address, which she failed to do. She has been a loss of contact since late July. 

Judge O’Keefe also issued a bench warrant for Nathaniel Carter, who pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary. Carter did not show up to his probation show cause hearing. 

Omara Hussein was also issued a bench warrant after not showing up to court. Hussein, 27, is on probation for simple assault and possession of a controlled substance.

A domestic violence defendant is charged with felony attempt to commit robbery and second-degree cruelty to children. He allegedly violated the stay away order against the victim in his case multiple times.

The prosecution showed photo evidence of messages he allegedly sent to the victim via Instagram. He also allegedly physically assaulted the victim outside of her apartment. 

Due to his repeated violation of release conditions, Judge O’Keefe decided to detain the defendant at DC Jail. 

Joanna Adams pleaded guilty to the attempted distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to one year of probation. However, the last time probation spoke to her was on July 9, when she said she was in a treatment program. 

Adams showed up to court late today. Judge O’Keefe decided to terminate her probation as unsuccessful.

Malik Goodman’s probation was also terminated as unsuccessful. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sex abuse. Goodman repeatedly violated conditions of his probation by not being compliant with drug trusting and by failing to successfully complete the court-ordered sex offender treatment program.

The judge noted that, while he failed in compliance with drug testing and the sex offender treatment program, he was generally overall well-behaved. Goodman was not re-arrested for any crimes, did not violate the stay away order that was in place and successfully paid his fee to the Crime Victims Compensation Program.

According to DC Courts, neither defendant was jailed again after the unsuccessful terminations.

Rafael Yanez, 23, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while impaired on Nov. 8, 2019. Although he had two recent arrests in the past year while on probation, he completed the traffic safety program, victim impact panel and payment to the crime victims program.

The defendant is also in the process of completing a traffic and alcohol program. His records with the PSA also indicate a lack of any positive testing for illegal substances. The judge ended the hearing and will allow Yanez’s probation to continue until it expires on Nov. 8. 

Judge O’Keefe decided to give a defendant charged with misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child or minor one more chance to comply with the conditions of his pretrial release. He has had multiple violations of his curfew and has repeatedly allowed his GPS monitoring system to lose charge. The judge set another hearing date for Oct. 9 to see if the defendant will comply with conditions. He also ordered the defendant to contact his case manager.

Andrea Tillman, 34, pleaded guilty to bail violation on Nov. 12, 2019 . She received a violation from probation for not having contacted Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) with her address. With less than two months of probation left, the judge decided to end the hearing. He said that as long as there are no future violations, her probation will end as planned. 

Michael Taylor is charged with simple assault. He failed to verify his address. The judge released him and ordered him to contact the PSA as soon as possible.