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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- July 28, 2020
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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A DC Superior Court judge scheduled a hearing for Aug. 11 for a firearms defendant to enter a plea deal.
Chester Harrison, 42, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.
Thecla Bethel, Harrison’s attorney, was under the impression that her client would be entering a plea agreement during the July 27 hearing.
However, Judge Danya Dayson then informed Bethel that, under the court’s order due to the COVID-19 pandemic, defendants cannot be present at afternoon hearings. Harrison was therefore unable to enter a plea, since a defendant is required to be present to do so.
On May 23 Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers saw a bulge in the back of Harrison’s shirt on the 2100 block of H Street, NE. Officers then tracked Harrison and eventually stopped him for driving under the influence on the 1200 block of Bladensburg Road, NE.
The officers then searched Harrison’s vehicle at the scene and recovered a functioning handgun that was stolen from Virginia.
Harrison was convicted of the same charge in 2017.