Judge Revokes Homicide Defendant’s Pretrial Release

By D.C. Witness Staff - January 19, 2021
Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On Jan. 19, a DC Superior Court judge revoked a murder defendant’s pretrial release, holding him at the DC jail.

The defendant, Andre Dubose, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly killing 37-year-old Ahmad Simms on the 1800 block of Q Street, SE.

Dubose, 37, is accused of killing Simms with a wooden object on March 17, 2019. Previously, Dubose had been at the DC jail since July 17, 2019, but he was released into the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP) on June 9 of 2020 given health concerns as well as limited evidence in the case.

On Jan. 19, Judge Neal Kravitz presided over a pretrial show cause hearing for the defendant, which was originally scheduled in early December of 2020 to discuss the defendant’s alleged lack of compliance with GPS monitoring conditions. Dubose was arrested on Dec. 2 and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.

In addition to the new case, Judge Kravitz said Dubose has a parole warrant for alleged technical violations in which he is convicted of attempted robbery and assault on a police officer.

Dubose’s defense attorney, Joseph Wong, said that prior to his new arrest, Dubose went for a long time with no incidents, citing his enrollment with Community Connections, a mental health clinic in DC. 

The prosecution, however, said that Dubose may no longer be eligible for HISP, as he is alleged to have assaulted the individuals who were also living at the place he resided.

Given that Dubose is currently held at the jail in his new assault case, Judge Kravitz said the only way forward that makes sense is to revoke his pretrial release and hold him in the homicide case. 

He said that if he gets released in his assault case, he would be willing to hear from defense counsel regarding reinstating release conditions.

Another hearing is scheduled for March 3 in the homicide case.