Judge Refuses to Modify A Murder Defendant’s Release Conditions

By D.C. Witness Staff - February 25, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

A  D.C. Superior Court judge ruled Feb. 22 to keep a murder defendant’s release conditions in place.

Maurice Allen is charged with obstruction of justice and perjury for his alleged role in the death of 27-year-old Arthur Thompkins on the 5400 block of Hunt Place, NE  in 2017.

Allen is currently released under the High Intensity Supervision program (HISP).

Judge Danya Dayson told Allen’s defense attorney that she would not release Allen on his own personal recognizance. Instead, Judge Dayson ruled Allen would continue wearing a GPS monitoring device and undergo random drug tests.

During the hearing, the prosecution argued in favor of the court’s ruling, saying Allen has a lengthy criminal history and tried to avoid detectives when they attempted to serve him a subpoena to testify in a grand jury.

However, Allen’s defense attorney, Randy McDonald, argued against the ruling, saying his client has been compliant under HISP and that he was not a flight risk or danger to the community. McDonald also said Allen testified in favor of the prosecution’s case during the grand jury.

It’s unclear whether Allen testified against his codefendants, Markale Moore and Tyrone Harris, at the grand jury hearing. Moore, 29, and Harris, 30, are charged with first-degree murder while armed for their alleged roles in Thompkins’ death.

According to court documents, Moore and Thompkins had an argument about money and a woman. Witnesses told police that Moore shot Thompkins and Harris drove the getaway car.

Moore, Harris and Allen are scheduled for a status hearing on May 5.