Judge Issues Bench Warrant for Defendant with Mental Health Issues

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A woman, who allegedly swung a knife at a person after trying to steal a pack of beer from a store, has a warrant out for her arrest.

Sonya Champ is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.

Champ was released with a stay-away order, but has been a loss of contact with pretrial services since February. 

On June 23, Champ’s defense attorney, Karen Minor, said Champ has a lot of acute mental health issues and that she got treatment from the Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW) several times over the last few months due to her issues.

Minor requested that pretrial services try to find Champ before the judge issued a bench warrant. Champ is not at PIW.


District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann said it is clear that Champ needs mental health treatment and is not getting it, so she issued a no bond bench warrant for her arrest.