In a shocking display of courtroom violence, a 13-year-old girl suspected of murder engaged in a fist fight with US Marshals before officers were able to forcefully remove and subdue her.
The outburst occurred in a closed hearing before DC Superior Court Judge Dorsey Jones on July 19 to determine whether there was probable cause that the confrontational teen, along with four other juveniles aged 12-to-15-years-old, were part of a murder conspiracy.
As the struggle continued, the child’s cries could be heard coming from a secure holding area behind the courtroom and shortly after two other US Marshals ran in to back up their colleagues.
Meanwhile, the child’s distraught mother yelled that her daughter was being kicked and said, “She’s 13-years-old!”
Later a number of DC emergency responders showed up outside the courtroom although it was not immediately clear if the suspect or anyone else sustained serious injury during the melee.
Prior to the fight with the marshals, the 13-year-old was crinkling a piece of paper in her right hand. That drew the initial response from the marshals and a rebuke from Judge Jones when she resisted surrendering the paper.
“She’s just a child; she doesn’t understand,” said her mother.
The incident caused Judge Jones to temporarily adjourn the proceedings until order could be restored.
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old next to her unruly co-defendant sat impassively throughout the hearing.
Prior to the disruption a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) initially testified about a series of events that led to the murder of 64-year-old Reggie Brown in what the officer described as a homicide resulting from blunt force trauma to the head.
The detective said the victim was lying on his back with blood pooled around his body. Brown suffered from many ailments, said the officer, had a metal plate in his head from a previous injury and was missing several fingers on both hands. In the struggle, two pairs of Brown’s pants had been removed.
The incident occurred in a dark alleyway near the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue, NW on Oct. 17, 2023.
The 13-year-old, along with another girl, 15, are charged with second-degree murder, assault and conspiracy in the attack. In May three other teens– two aged 13 and one 12-years-old–were accused of similar charges in Brown’s murder. All of the defendants are being detained at DC’s Youth Services Center (YSC).
The detective who was on the stand for almost the entire six hour hearing said a witness to the murder told him the group “appeared to be jumping someone.”
The precipitating event, according to the detective, was the appearance of an unidentified male suspect in a blue coat who, as identified in surveillance video, was seen kicking Brown and forcibly “escorting” him across the street toward the alley where the fatal encounter occurred.
At that point, according to the detective’s account, the five juvenile girls are seen running after the victim, with one of the 13-year-old’s jumping a fence, then altogether fatally “stomp on him,” repeatedly kicking the back of his head.
According to the detective one defendant is heard asking, “Can I beat him, too?” The answer was yes.
The detective noted identifying features of the suspects, including clothing and shoes with “shimmering aspects.”
However, the most compelling piece of evidence was a 55 second cell phone video purportedly taken by one of the assailants during the murder. As the camera light follows the action in a darkened alley, Brown’s pants are pulled off and the prosecutor said he was “beaten viciously” and “repeatedly stomped.” Meanwhile, Brown lay motionless on the ground.
Afterward, said the prosecutor, the girls allegedly laughed and celebrated the killing. Although the cell phone audio wasn’t clear, the prosecutor said one of the juveniles said, “He dead?” Followed by, “We killed him.” Faces were clearly visible in the video sequence.
According to the prosecution, the video was sent to another of the accused co-conspirators who answered back in an Instagram post, “Tell (one of the defendants) to delete that video.”
“They completed their mission,” said the prosecutor. “They did what they set out to do.”
For its part the defense pointed out there was only one eyewitness who was able to identify one of the defendants clearly. Further, at times during his testimony, the detective was less certain about his description of some events than others. Also, parts of the surveillance footage were blurry.
The lawyer for the 13-year-old challenged the notion that the crime could have been premeditated. “What does that look like for a 13-year-old?,” asked the attorney.
She further disputed the idea that a pair of shoes worn by her client did not meet the threshold of assault with a dangerous weapon.
“Crocs are not a dangerous weapon,” she said.
Summing up, the prosecutor said the defendants’ actions were deliberate, “callous with the intent to beat this man to death.”
In finding probable cause for the crime, Judge Dorsey said there was no doubt about what happened and that the identities of the suspects were clear.
Based on the evidence and recommendations by DC probation officials, he ordered the juveniles detained. Judge Dorsey said he was “so troubled” that the victim was apparently picked at random, and unknown to the defendants.
The other three defendants in the case appeared before DC Superior Court Judge Kendra Briggs earlier in the afternoon. They will all remain detained and a stay away order was imposed to keep the newly charged defendants from being in contact with those originally accused.
The next hearing in the case is set for July 26.
