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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- June 8, 2018
Court
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Homicides
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Suspects
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On Feb. 21, David Bright pled guilty to two counts of murder in the first-degree. However, on June 8, Bright changed his plea to not guilty.
Bright, 31, is accused of allegedly shooting his housemates, 45-year-old David Watkins Jr. and Clifton Francis,51, on the 500 block of 58th Street, NE in February 2016. According to court documents, Bright was found with the murder weapon, a .40 caliber pistol. Despite an extensive amount of evidence from the prosecution, Bright wrote a letter to DC Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck stating that he wanted to change his guilty plea.
The change follows a sentencing hearing held May 18 that was continued to June 8. After the May 18 hearing, Bright’s mother told D.C. Witness that her son’s guilty plea was coerced. D.C. Witness is currently investigating the mother’s accusations.
Because of the change, Judge Beck assigned a criminal justice attorney to advise Bright on his decision to change his plea. The defense is interested in having a mental health evaluation and/or a competency screening conducted.
The judge is giving Bright more time to decide if he would like to move forward with the not-guilty plea.
A status hearing is scheduled for June 29.