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Ashley Drazka
, McKenna Bryant - April 15, 2024
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On April 11, DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun heard testimony from a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) lead detective during a preliminary hearing to determine probable cause in an apparent revenge murder.
Eliexander Lopez-Burgos, 24, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Carlos Javier Blanco Fernandez. The incident occurred on Nov.16, 2023 on the 2200 block of New York Avenue, NE.
The prosecution called the lead MPD homicide detective who said on Nov. 14, 2023, Lopez-Burgos was involved in an altercation with an unidentified group of people.
“We learned that the defendant threatened that group,” the detective said. “And stated that he would kill them.” Later that day, Lopez-Burgos was inside his minivan along with his girlfriend and children when someone approached and shot him in the leg in a McDonald’s parking lot.
The detective stated CCTV video footage from two days later shows a suspect in a minivan fatally shooting Blanco Fernandez. The footage was not presented in court.
On Dec. 4, 2023, Lopez-Burgos was arrested in Glendale, Colorado and extradited to the District on Jan. 4.
During cross examination, the detective testified that none of the witnesses saw Lopez-Burgos allegedly shooting Blanco Fernandez. One of the witnesses saw a “dark-colored arm” extended from the suspect vehicle, but they could not see who the person was, and they were not holding a gun.
The detective then testified that another witness said she saw Lopez-Burgos running towards the same McDonald’s shortly after the shooting.
Defense attorney Roderick Thompson said the basis for the prosecution’s case is that Lopez-Burgos shot Blanco Fernandez as revenge for the Nov. 14 incident. He argued that this is not a valid conclusion because Blanco Fernandez was ruled out as a suspect in the Nov. 14 shooting.
Parties are slated to return May 3.
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