Judge Releases 2 Homicide Defendants to Home Confinement

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During a hearing on Aug. 2, DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee released two homicide defendants into home confinement and GPS monitoring.

Alonzo Brown, 25, and Naquel Henderson, 25, are charged with first-degree murder while armed and conspiracy to commit a crime of violence in connection to the shooting of 21-year-old Michael Taylor on Jan. 12, 2019, on the 1700 block of Benning Road, NE. Two other people, including a child, sustained significant injuries from the shooting. 

Brown and Henderson are each also charged with multiple counts of assault with the intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. 

On Aug. 2, the prosecutor asked Judge Lee to change the defendants’ trial date, which had been originally set for Oct. 5, due to co-counsel unavailability. 

Brown and Henderson’s defense attorneys, Steven Kiersch and Lisbeth Sapirstein, opposed the prosecutor’s request, citing the length for which the defendants had already been detained. 

The two defendants have been detained in the DC Jail since 2019. 

The prosecutor consented to releasing Brown and Henderson under the  high-intensity supervision program (HISP) with 24-hour home confinement and GPS monitoring as the defendants await their new trial date. 

Judge Lee accepted the parties’ requests and set a new trial date for May 6, 2024. 

Judge Lee also scheduled an additional hearing on Oct. 5 to check Brown and Henderson’s compliance with their release conditions.