Judge Questions Prosecution on Delays in 2019 Murder Case Indictment

By D.C. Witness Staff - June 16, 2021
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A DC Superior Court judge questioned a prosecutor on why a defendant, who was charged with murder in November 2019, is still waiting to be indicted. 

Twenty-four-year-old Tyrell Powell, also known as Marco Powell, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 22-year-old Semaj Alsobrooks on Sept. 4, 2019, on the 3900 block of East Capitol Street, NE.

Defense attorneys Jason Tulley and Pierce Suen have filed a failure to indict motion as well as a speedy trial motion, arguing for the dismissal of an indictment, the scheduling of an immediate trial or the release of the defendant pending trial. 

In a supplemental pleading, the defense said “the government’s manipulative grand jury practices have caused deliberate and significant delays which weigh heavily against the government. Second, the solitary confinement and other dreadful conditions at the jail weigh substantially against the government in the Court’s Speedy Trial analysis of the prejudice Mr. Powell has suffered.”

During the June 14 hearing, the prosecution said the absence of an indictment is the result of limited grand jury availability and the complexity of the case. 

However, Judge Milton Lee said that 14 cases of a similar nature came to court after Powell’s case and have been heard by a grand jury.

In a recently filed court document, the prosecution points out that, in March 2020, the month in which the U.S. first led the world in confirmed COVID-19 cases, then Chief Judge Robert E. Morin issued orders “tolling all deadlines and time limits in statutes, court rules, and standing and other orders,” and that an Amended General Order issued last month specifies that the suspensions, tolling and extensions apply to indictments.

The prosecution said that unless the defendant can prove that the order exceeds the Chief Judge’s authority or is unconstitutional, he is not entitled to dismissal or release.

Judge Lee scheduled the motion hearing to resume on June 30.