DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman considered allowing prosecutors to introduce video from a vehicular homicide defendant’s California arrest during a hearing on June 22.
Kyle Piunti, 37, is charged with second-degree murder and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for his alleged involvement in a fatal Jan. 3, 2024, hit-and-run crash on Interstate 295 that killed 54-year-old Michael Scott Hamlin.
According to court documents, investigators allege Piunti was driving an Audi Q5 at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour in a 50-mile-per-hour zone when he struck multiple vehicles and Hamlin before reportedly fleeing the scene.
Piunti is representing himself in his case.
Prosecutors called the lead Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective on the case to testify about police car dash camera footage from August 2024, which he received of Piunti’s arrest in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The video shows Piunti in the back of a police cruiser in California after being arrested for an unrelated offense. The arresting officer informs him that he has an arrest warrant for murder, but she does not provide any more information.
During the recording, Piunti appeared to reference a warrant out of DC. The officer tells him that she did not disclose the source of the warrant.
Later in the video, Piunti said that he did not say “DC,” but rather “Can I see?”
The officer then tells Piunti that it “sounds like you [Piunti] know more about it than I do.”
Piunti filed a motion on Jan. 23 to suppress the video evidence because he had not received Miranda warnings against the potential for self-incrimation. In court, Piunti continued by arguing that, because the lead detective was not present during his arrest in California, he could not testify as to whether the video was edited or doctored.
The prosecutor argued that the video is admissible because Piunti’s statements were voluntary and not the product of interrogation because the officer did not ask him any questions; he just blurted out information.
Judge Edelman said he would consider the arguments and make a ruling on the admissibility of the evidence at the following hearing.
Judge Edelman then granted Piunti’s request to remove David Akulian, Piunti’s standby attorney, from the case.
Judge Edelman previously appointed Akulian on May 29 as his standby counsel, but Piunti argued the court was using Akulian to act without Piunti’s knowledge. Because the court appointed Akulian, Piunti believed his standby counsel was in cahoots with the prosecution. Akulian is the seventh attorney Piunti has dismissed in his case.
Piunti said he was open to appointing new standby counsel, but he requested that the new attorney be a woman, as, according to him, his previous standby counsel were all men. Hannah Claudio and Camille Wagner, both women, previously represented Piunti and were appointed by the court.
Judge Edelman conducted a second inquiry to determine whether Piunti wanted to proceed to trial on July 1 without an attorney. Piunti had an identical hearing on Oct. 28, 2025, when he dismissed his first standby attorney.
Piunti accused Judge Edelman of being prejudiced against him and “abusing [his] authority.” He then requested the judge to recuse himself from the case, which the judge rejected.
Before the hearing concluded, the parties discussed arrangements to provide Piunti with relevant information and appropriate trial attire while he remains in custody. The court scheduled a brief hearing for the prosecution to provide Piunti with the material.
Parties are slated to reconvene on June 26.
