DC Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe said the prosecution’s delayed forensic testing results did not provide grounds to dismiss an armed carjacking case at a July 14 hearing. That in spite of what the defense claimed the judge had promised to do given the impending trial.
Kurt Downs, 17, is charged with armed carjacking, robbery while armed, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in an incident that occurred at the 2700 block of Marrion Barry Avenue, SE on March 8.
Downs is charged under Title 16, which allows prosecutors to try juveniles as adults for certain serious offenses.
At the hearing, the court addressed Downs’ rights under the Innocence Protection Act (IPA). The IPA is a law that allows defendants to independently request testing of crime scene evidence. Downs’ attorney, Gemma Stevens, established that she had not yet received the results of the prosecution’s forensic testing.
Stevens reminded Judge Pipe of a previous conversation she claimed they had in which the judge said that if results were not received by July 14, the court would grant a defense motion to dismiss the case. Judge Pipe, however, said she did not recall this conversation, and stated that dismissal would not be an appropriate action at the hearing.
Despite this, Judge Pipe expressed concern that delayed results may negatively impact the prosecutors’ case. They now expect the results by Aug. 24, which she noted was close to the Sept. 30 trial date.
Parties are scheduled to reconvene on Sept. 11.
