DC Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel sentenced a domestic violence stabbing defendant to 18 months of probation on July 10 for his conduct during a domestic dispute.
Marquise Bailey, 27, pleaded guilty on April 7 to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of an unregistered firearm. Bailey admitted to stabbing his girlfriend after a verbal altercation on Nov. 30, 2025 in his apartment on the 5200 block of Karl Place, NE. The victim sustained one laceration to her hand.
Prosecutors asked for a 24-month prison sentence for the assault charge and a six-month concurrent sentence for the possession of an unregistered firearm. They argued that certain statements Bailey made in the pre-sentence report about the victim being “crazy” made them think he was not taking the charges seriously.
Sara Kopecki, Bailey’s attorney, argued for no jail time added to the seven months he had already spent in custody. Kopecki said that when Bailey experiences the loss of a relationship, he “doesn’t handle it appropriately” and recommended grief counseling as a condition of his probation.
When given the opportunity to speak, Bailey said he felt like he was “misunderstood at times” but that he did not “disregard [anybody]’s feelings.”
“I don’t want to be looked at as a negative entity,” Bailey said.
Judge Israel sentenced Bailey to 18 months of imprisonment for the assault charge and six months for the possession charge, to run concurrently. All time was suspended in favor of 18 months of supervised probation, meaning he will not serve any additional jail time unless he violates his probation and the judge revokes it.
Following his probation, Bailey must register as a gun offender for two years and cannot possess a firearm in DC.
As an additional condition to his probation, Judge Israel ordered Bailey undergo training for a commercial driver’s license, since he had expressed desire to be a truck driver in his pre-sentence report. She also granted the grief counseling Kopecki sought.
Parties are scheduled to reconvene Oct. 30 for a probation review hearing.
