Judge Rejects Motion for New Trial in Murder Case

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 29, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge rejected a convicted first-degree murder defendant’s motion for a new trial.

In 2012, Darnell Hawkins was sentenced to serve 40 years for first-degree murder while armed in the death of Dawan Felder. Felder was killed in the early morning hours of May 16, 2010, on the 5000 block of D Street, SE. He was 28 years old.

In 2018, Hawkins, 38, filed a motion for a new trial. He based his motion on the argument that he had deficient representation from his lawyer. 

However, during the Sept. 28 hearing, Judge Ronna Beck ruled that there was no deficiency. 

Hawkin’s current defense attorney, Thomas Healy, argued that a retrial was in order because Hawkins’ initial attorney did not bring forward witnesses who could have proved Hawkins’ innocence, did not sufficiently explain the plea bargain that had been offered, and did not file a severance claim between Hawkins and his co-defendant.

During the hearing, the prosecution brought forward two witnesses: Hawkin’s attorney during his initial trial and a defense team investigator from the initial trial.

The former defense attorney was asked why the witnesses in the initial case were not brought forward in the trial. The witness said this was done because many of the witnesses in the initial trial were not deemed credible and could have potentially hurt the defendant’s case further.

The attorney was also asked how the plea bargain had been explained to the defendant. The lawyer said he explained the plea bargain thoroughly, although he could not remember the specifics of the conversation. He also said that throughout his time with Hawkins, the defendant maintained his innocence and seemed unlikely to accept a plea bargain. On the issue of severance, the witness claimed he did not believe there had been a basis for it.

Many of the same questions were asked of the second witness, who corroborated and provided additional information about why the witnesses in the initial trial would have been unlikely to improve Hawkins’ case.

Judge Beck said the testimony of the witnesses were more credible than that of Hawkins’, whose testimony in prior hearings was found to be contradictory.

She also ruled that the first witness provided sufficient information about the plea to Hawkins and that the decision to not bring certain witnesses forward was done out of sound judgement, ruling that there was no reason for a severance motion to have been filed.

Hawkins is being held in DC Jail and will be transported back to his federal corrections facility as soon as possible.