Judge Releases Defendant Awaiting Sentencing

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On July 14, a DC Superior Court judge released a burglary defendant who is waiting to be sentenced.

On Feb. 28, Rodney Hart Jr. pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree burglary for trying to remove a flat screen television from a building on the 2100 block of L Street, NW on Nov. 7. 2019.

We should give him another chance to present himself, the judge said.

Due to the defendant’s issues complying with the conditions of his pretrial release, including a stay away order violation, a representative from the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA)  asked that Hart be removed from their supervision.

The prosecution said that Hart should be held in jail until he receives his sentence.

Hart’s defense, attorney Todd Baldwin, said his client was ordered to stay away from the District of Columbia. He said Hart only violated the stay away order because he had to pass through DC on his commute to work at the Navy Yard

Baldwin also asked Judge Gerald Fisher to limit his client’s stay away order to the Northwest quadrant of DC, where he committed multiple burglaries. 

However, the prosecution said the stay away order specifically allowed Hart to partake in job training in Washington, DC. The prosecutor said Hart’s probation violations have nothing to do with is commute to work.

Hart’s next hearing is scheduled for July 16. 

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