Murder Defendant Rejects Plea Offer, Weighs DNA Testing

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A murder defendant informed DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan on July 15 that he intended to reject a plea offer and is awaiting word from an expert concerning DNA evidence, during a July 15 hearing.

Deonte Patterson, 28, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and obstruction of justice for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Ali Jamil Al-Mahdi on Aug. 23, 2021. The incident occurred on the 1800 block of 9th Street, NW.

According to court documents, Patterson allegedly shot and killed Al-Mahdi before driving away in a car with his girlfriend and godbrother. Al-Mahdi sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the left arm and chest areas. The suspect vehicle was found later that day after a car accident, where all three passengers survived but sustained injuries.

Reportedly, Patterson’s girlfriend was additionally a witness to an incident on Jan. 19, 2019 where Al-Mahdi allegedly shot at Patterson. Al-Mahdi was arrested for assault with intent to kill.

During the July 15 hearing, Patterson declined the prosecution’s offer to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, with a sentencing range of seven-and-a-half-to-fifteen years. All other charges would have been dropped.

Defense attorney Cheryl Stein stated there were previous issues that affected her ability to do independent DNA evidence testing in that the previous expert had “disappeared” and that she could no longer get in contact with them.

Stein explained that in order to move forward with the case, she wanted to get a DNA expert to inform her if testing is necessary or not. However, she could not clarify how long it would take to get that information, stating, “we will cross that bridge when we get there.”

In response, the prosecution stated that there was already a hearing pertaining to independent DNA testing scheduled for October, but there is still no progress.

They are concerned that initiating testing in September would further delay the trial date, which is scheduled for March 2025. Judge Raffinan agreed, saying that the defense was being too vague, and the prosecution deserves clarity.

Judge Raffinan set a deadline for July 29 for defense to render whether they were going to use results from an independent DNA test. She advised that counsel “exercise due diligence,” and that they don’t need more delays for a matter like this that should yield a “basic answer.”

Parties are slated to return Aug. 22 to discuss motions.