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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- July 7, 2017
Court
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Homicides
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Suspects
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A murder suspect’s father was arrested within the first five minutes of Thursday’s trial.
Eugene Burns’ father, Eugene Burns Sr. was brought to the holding cells in the back of the courtroom after police executed an arrest warrant due to an allegation of witness intimidation.
Burns Sr. has been in attendance for nearly every part of his son’s case, who is on trial for the alleged murder of Onyekachi Osuchukwu III.
Eugene Burns Sr. conduct in the courtroom has been the subject of many disruptions, and he has been reprimanded several times by court marshals for falling asleep and snoring inside the courtroom. During an earlier proceeding, Eugene Burns Sr. engaged in a shouting match with the judge, after the judge refused to speak with him.
After being escorted to holding cells behind the courtroom, Burns Sr.’s shouts could still be heard in the courtroom, and he was brought to a different room.
Eugene Burns’ attorneys motioned for a mistrial, arguing that the jury could no longer remain impartial after the father’s behavior. The government argued that the jury barely saw Burns Sr. The request for a mistrial was denied, and the proceedings continued.