Murder Trial Resumes on Halloween

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A defendant’s murder trial was continued until Oct. 31.

Kenneth Adams is charged with first-degree murder while armed, among other charges, for allegedly shooting 21-year-old Dante Kinard on the 1800 block of Benning Road, NE in 2016. Kinard was not the intended target in the shooting.

There will be a 3-day gap in the trial because District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff said Oct. 25 that she will not be able to preside over the trial until Wednesday.

On Oct. 22, the prosecution told the jury that Adams, 20, walked toward a group of people on Benning Road, pulled out a gun and started shooting.

According to court documents, multiple eyewitnesses identified Adams as the shooter. However, when police inquired further, one witness said that it was too dark to identify the shooter. The decedent apparently warned the witness as Adams and a group of unidentified individuals approached them. 

Adams allegedly robbed the sister of an individual in a group that was with the witness and decedent. According to the prosecution, the individual was from the Langston neighborhood which rivals with the 21st and I Street, NE neighborhood. Adams, who is from the 21st and I Street neighborhood, allegedly said the individual was “next.”

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