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D.C. Witness Staff
- October 14, 2020
Court
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Homicides
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Victims
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A hearing to determine if a murder case has enough evidence to move to trial was rescheduled because the defendant refused to be tested for COVID-19.
Jonathan Jenkins, 29, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly gunning down Richard Mitchell on May 31 in an apartment complex on the 2500 block of Elvans Road, SE. Mitchell was 25.
“I have my concerns about whether my client was offered testing by DOC,” said defense attorney Madalyn Harvey. “They might have dropped the ball.”
Harvey did not definitively know if her client declined testing. But she said she spoke to Jenkins earlier this week, and he was willing to be tested, but DC Jail had not yet administered it.
However, Judge Juliet McKenna said that defendants in other preliminary hearings scheduled this week have already been tested.
Judge McKenna rescheduled the hearing for Nov. 5, so Jenkins can be present in the courtroom and has time to agree to the test.
Sierra Robbins wrote this article