Defendant Pleads Not Guilty to Sexual Abuse

On Oct. 31, a DC man was arraigned for the sexual abuse, kidnapping, and aggravated assault of a woman he knew for over thirty-five years.

On March 30, the Metropolitan Police Department Sexual Assault Unit responded to an assault that occurred on the 1800 block of Columbia Road, NW. When officers arrived on the scene, they found the defendant on top of the complainant “tussling” with her. The defendant wanted to have sexual intercourse and when denied, he dragged the woman into an alley.

The woman resisted and struggled with the defendant as he pulled her pants down to her mid-thigh area. He repeatedly punched her in the face until the victim was laid out on the ground. The defendant proceeded to engage in sexual acts with the victim. She was transported to a local hospital with severe injuries to the face.

Upon questioning, the defendant described the victim as a “hoe” exerting that she was an extremely promiscuous woman.

He also stated that the victim is a “drunk” and a “prostitute.” The defendant said that the victim fell in the alley and that they “smoked crack” together. He indicated that the victim also smokes “dippers” known as Phencyclidine (PCP), an hallucinogen, and drinks vodka.

The defendant has been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree sexual abuse offenses committed during release, two counts of third-degree sex abuse-force offenses committed during release, kidnapping offense committed during release, aggravated assault knowingly offense committed during release, assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse offense committed during release and assault with significant bodily injury.

“That’s not true,” the defendant repeatedly said as the charges were being read to him. The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The defendant also has a misdemeanor case open involving a simple assault where he assaulted another victim and called her a “whore.”

Defense attorney Lisbeth Sapirstein is pushing for another status hearing. The defendant remains held without bail.

Prosecutors are willing to continue this case into a new hearing as they prepare a global plea offer for the defendant.

DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan scheduled the next hearing for Dec. 19.

Homicide Defendant Enters Guilty Plea for Lower Charge

On Oct. 28, DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee accepted a defendant’s decision to accept a plea agreement from the prosecution in regard to a 2016 homicide case.

Xavier Hamilton, 30, was charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged role in the shooting of 39-year-old Ivy Tonnet Smith.

According to court documents, on March 6, 2016, the Metropolitan Police Department was called to the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue, SE. Ivy Smith was an innocent bystander struck by gunfire at the local bus stop. Smith was transported to Washington Hospital Center where she later was pronounced dead. Another individual was found suffering from a gunshot wound at a nearby beauty supply store.

Hamilton waived his rights as he entered a guilty plea of voluntary manslaughter while armed. Hamilton is slated to serve eight years in prison and three years of supervised probation.

The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Sex Abuse Defendant Remains Released As Trial Approaches

During an Oct. 28 hearing, DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo opened the court to pretrial services following the compliance of the 38- year-old sex abuse defendant.

The defendant is charged with two counts of first-degree child sex abuse and two counts of second-degree child abuse. According to court documents, on the evening of Oct. 8, on the 100 block of V Street, NE, the victim who was 13 years old at the time of the assault told members of the Metropolitan Police Department that the defendant engaged in a sexual act with her, according to court documents.

Defense attorney Madalyn Harvey indicated the given facts of what she knows about the case. She said she will not be conducting any testing at all and will discuss her findings in the testing with the defendant.

The prosecutor was on track with the defense regarding her decision not to conduct independent testing in this sexual assault case.

According to pretrial services, the defendant is in good compliance with his current conditions. They want the stay-away order to remain in place along with his regular check-ins. The defendant is also required to continue his mental health courses.

According to court documents, the assault took place in the apartment of the victim’s mother. The victim was on the couch when the defendant then began to kiss her on her neck and her mouth before inserting his penis into her vagina. Upon questioning the defendant then admitted to engaging in the sexual act with the minor without using a condom.

The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9.

Co-conspirator Testifies Against His ‘Brothers’ in Murder Trial

The testimony of the prosecution’s key witness, a man already convicted for the same murder said the two defendants were like brothers to him, began in an Oct. 31 homicide trial.

The witness pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year in connection with an Aug. 10, 2017, shooting at the intersection of Saratoga and Montana Avenues, NE that killed 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor. As a condition of his plea, he agreed to testify against the two men he identified to police detectives as his co-conspirators, 23-year-old James Mayfield and 23-year-old Robert Moses.

The two defendants are charged with 13 and 25 counts respectively, including first-degree murder, drive-by or random shooting, assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery while armed and conspiracy, in relation to the same incident.

The witness, Mayfield and Moses were all a part of the Langdon Park Crew, the group whose ongoing feud with a crew in the nearby Saratoga neighborhood was determined as the cause of Sydnor’s murder, according to Mayfield.

The witness remains held at the D.C. Jail pending sentencing.

The “beef” between the two crews had been going on, he said, since “before I was born, before I remember.”

The prosecutor presented photos of the witness’s extensive tattoos, which included several mentions of his affiliation with the crew, such as an arm tattoo that read “IIIK” in reference to the 3000 block of several of the North-South streets in the Langdon Park neighborhood. They also included a tattoo that spanned both arms that read “DEATH B4 DISHONOR.”

The prosecutor asked the witness to clarify what dishonor might look like —“what I’m doing right now, basically,” he replied, referring to testifying against fellow members of his crew. Many in the courtroom audience shook their heads or otherwise expressed dismay at this.

Though being in the same crew had kept the witness close with Mayfield and Moses, he said the three of them met at a recreation center in Langdon Park, where they would go to play sports and “stay off the street.”

As they grew up, he said he was especially close with Moses and his family. When he could not watch his kids, Moses would occasionally watch them for him—the witness has five children with four different women with whom he described as “co-parenting.” He called Moses’ mother “Ma,” he said, and even stayed with them in their basement at several points, including at the time of his arrest.

“We were together every day,” he said of him and Moses. “We’d stay together as much as possible.”

The Langdon Park Crew made rap videos together, calling themselves “Filthy Gang” in reference to a crew member who died several years ago who they called Filthy. The prosecutor presented the cover of a Filthy Gang mixtape as well as several stills from a music video the group made.

Using these images, the witness identified well over a dozen members or friends of the Langdon Park Crew, by their government names, their nicknames and when applicable, the number the crew had given them—he was “2,” for example, while Mayfield was “64” and Moses was “8.”

In several of these images, a black hoodie with jagged, red and white detailing can be seen being worn by various people. This hoodie, which the forensic scientist testified earlier to having tested for DNA, was the Master Piece hoodie that had been the subject of much discussion in previous hearings.

Mayfield’s defense attorney, Veronice Holt, pointed out in a Thursday hearing that her client’s DNA represented only 8 percent of the DNA found on the hoodie, and that that fact may indicate he was not the most recent wearer. The hoodie was found in the gold Honda that the witness was arrested while walking away from, and that was reported to have been the car the three used to get to and from the site of the shooting.

Prior to calling witnesses, the prosecutor informed DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan that she anticipated direct examination of the witness would take “the next couple days.”

The trial is set to continue on Nov. 1.

Victim’s Family Says Six Years Is Not Enough For the Homicide

During an Oct. 28 hearing, family members poured into a courtroom at the DC Superior Courthouse pleading for a higher sentence after the defendant entered into a plea deal for six to nine years in prison for the homicide of two individuals.

Rasheed Young, 44, fatally shot 26-year-old Cedric Rogers on June 11, 1996, on the 300 block of Franklin Street, NE. Young also fatally shot 39-year-old Ronald William Richardson, Jr. on May 18, 2018, on the 2300 block of 4th Street, NE.

DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun opened the court to the family members of Richardson for their impact statements.

“I’m sorry,” Richardson’s older sister cried out in court. “When my brother was born, I was 13 years old, and he was my first baby. When you killed my brother, you killed my father. My brother was my father’s favorite child. My father looked for him the day that he went missing. We had no idea what was going on with him, yet he lay in that apartment for two days. May God have mercy on your soul!”

Ricahrdson’s second sister said, “you know exactly who I am and what exactly you have done for you all to develop a relationship and to turn around and do this to my brother. While you were on the run you sent me multiple friend requests on Facebook knowing what you did. My mother died 11 months after my brother because she couldn’t handle it. My father passed away 11 months after her because his youngest son was gone. It was our son’s prom night, and my brother wasn’t there,” she said.

Rogers’ mother dialed in remotely to give her statement.

“My heart goes out to the family,” she said. “My son was killed, and I haven’t heard the defendant was remorseful for what he did. For him to get one sentencing is not enough. This man is still sitting here while my son is in the grave. He killed my son over a dog. A four-legged creature. It’s not years he is facing. He will get out of jail and do it again. I pray to God to hold me and to keep me straight and I pray for his mom because when she looks at him she has to look at the murders he had done.”

Defense attorney Kevin Mosley mentioned Young has suffered a stroke and doesn’t remember any of the actions the prosecution had found on his behalf.

Young has a history of substance abuse. In 2012, the defendant had a stroke but is competent today. His mental health fluctuates because of his medicine, Mosley said.

Judge Okun sentenced Young to nine years in prison.

Upon release, he must complete five years of supervised release and register as a gun offender. He also has to complete substance and mental health treatment.

“As a man in your mid-forties, for your sake and the community’s, I hope you turn things around and I never have to see you in this courtroom again,” Judge Okun said.

Judge Rejects Defense’s Motion

DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee granted on Oct. 28 a continuance for an updated indictment date and motion to reconsider detention.

Alvin Alexis Cruz-Garcia, 24, is charged with second-degree murder in connection to March 23, 2021, murder of 38-year-old Ramon Gomez-Yanez. According to court documents, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to reports of an unconscious person at approximately 8:50 pm on the 1500 block of Ogden Street, NW.

An autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

During the Friday hearing, the prosecution said they did not believe that there was other DNA evidence except the blood on the defendant’s clothing and fingerprints found on the vehicle. The fingerprints were sent to the lab to perform further investigation.

The prosecutor also said there is not a plea offer for the defendant at this time.

The defense has not talked in detail about the new evidence with the defendant and is waiting to check with forensic specialists.

A motion to reconsider the detention was filed by the defense.

There were some statements made by the prosecutor during the preliminary hearing that was not proper, and the pending immigration matter was not a criminal matter when the defendant was arrested.

The defense argued that the motion had nothing to do with criminal activity.

It was not the case of flight risk, the defendant’s grandmother passed away so the defendant was going to Mexico before the warrant was initiated.

Judge Lee denied the defense’s motion to reconsider detention.

Judge Lee also demanded the prosecutor have the indictment target date finalized by the next hearing.

The next status hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2023.

Murder Defendant Rejects Plea Offer

During an Oct. 28 hearing, a murder defendant rejected a plea offer in connection to a 2016 homicide case.

In March 2019, a jury found 63-year-old Kimberly Thompson guilty of first-degree murder for allegedly shooting 53-year-old Charles Mayo on Dec. 17, 2015, on the 1900 block of Bennett Place, NE.

In January 2016, DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee ordered a new trial for the defendant due to the prosecution’s failure to disclose important case information.

During the Friday hearing, defense attorney Howard McEachern will adopt the motion that the defendant filed back in October 2020 and will be open to attending a hearing regarding that motion.

The defendant said the information presented by the prosecutor was false to which the defendant filed the motion and that the prosecutor wasn’t so forthcoming about it.

The prosecutor will update the judge about the motion by the end of the year.

The defense asked the prosecutor to turn over all the information on the discoveries.

A plea offer was offered and was rejected by the defendant.

Judge Lee scheduled the next hearing on April. 14.

Judge Denies Request to Reschedule Trial Date

DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee granted a continuance on Oct. 28 to discuss a new trial date and to provide updates.

Wilbert Whitaker is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Leo Hackett in April of 2016 on the 800 block of 21st Street, NE. He is also charged with possession of a firearm while armed during a crime of violence.

The trial date for Whitaker is scheduled for October 2023.

During the Friday hearing, defense attorney Mani Golzari requested the date be moved to April 2024.

The prosecutor was not pleased, arguing that the defense is delaying the trial date since the case is six years old.

Judge Lee denied the defense’s oral motion to reschedule the trial date.

Whitaker’s next hearing date is scheduled for July 12, 2023.

Witness to Murder of 15 Year old Testifies During Trial

A trial for a murder defendant resumed with testimony from a witness.

Malik Holston, 20, is charged with first-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to the shooting of 15-year-old Gerald Watson on Dec. 13, 2018, on the 2900 block of Knox Place, SE.

During an Oct. 28 trial proceeding, the prosecution summoned a witness to testify who resided at the apartment complex in which the shooting occurred. The man was also acquainted with the victim because Watson and the witness’s stepson were cousins.

Watson often visited the witness’s residence to play video games with his cousin on several occasions.

At the trial, the prosecution called the witness to the stand to inquire about Holston, asking him to recall details from the incident.

The witness remembered the clothing the two men at the scene wore. He asserted that Holston wore an all-black outfit with a face mask, while the other man, whom he was unable to identify, wore an all-green outfit with a green face mask

He claimed to have known who Holston was because he “lived in the neighborhood.”

Holston’s defense attorney, Matthew Wilson, cross-examined the witness, inquiring about the hand Holston used to hold the gun. The witness said he held the gun in his right hand.

When referencing the transcript from the grand jury trial nearly two years earlier, the witness stated that Holston had carried the gun in his left hand, deviating from his testimony during Friday’s proceeding.

In response, the prosecution played video footage from his interview with detectives after the incident to jog his memory. The witness still could not remember certain details from the scene.

Neither the prosecution nor the defense had any additional questions for the witness.

After a long break, DC Superior Court Judge Brandt and the attorneys discussed the implementation of jury instructions as standards recently changed.

Parties are expected to return to court on Oct. 31 to resume trial-related matters.

Document: Homicide in Southeast

Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Oct. 30, on the 3800 block of 9th Street, SE.

According to a press release, at about 1:03 pm, officers located 56-year-old Michael Andre Evans suffering form an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Relative, Who Was in Car with Victim, Testifies At Murder Trial

Prosecutors put three witnesses, including the nephew of the victim, on the stand to testify against murder co-defendants in a trial on Oct. 27.

James Mayfield, 23, and 23-year-old Robert Moses are charged with 13 and 25 counts respectively, including first-degree murder, drive-by or random shooting, assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery while armed and conspiracy among others in connection with an Aug. 10, 2017, shooting at the intersection of Saratoga and Montana Avenues, NE that killed 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor.

According to court documents, the shooting was connected to a feud between a crew from the Saratoga neighborhood and the defendants’ crew from the Langdon Park neighborhood—though Sydnor was connected with neither.

The first witness to testify in front of the jury on Thursday was a DNA analyst who submitted a report on the case in October 2019. The prosecutor presented a copy of that report, which tested several parts of the vehicle the defendants allegedly escaped in — a gold Honda — and several pieces of clothing found in the vehicle.

As the witness explained, she tested swabs of those items against DNA from Mayfield, Moses and an accomplice who confessed to having driven the Honda that day. The accomplice is expected to testify for the prosecution at the next hearing.

Results from the interior of the front driver-side door “strongly favored inclusion” of the accomplice, while the rear driver-side door had what was likely the DNA of Mayfield. The DNA of all three individuals was detected with high probability on the rim of a red cup found in the front cupholder. Moses’ DNA was likely present on a blue sweatshirt the lab tested, but on other shirts found in the car, all three were definitively “excluded,” meaning they had no DNA on those items.

The witness clarified that even when a person’s DNA is almost certainly on an item, it cannot be assumed that the person touched the item directly. DNA can be transferred, she noted, if it lingers on an item which another person later touches before touching whatever was tested.

The defense cross-examined the witness on this point about DNA transference. Mayfield’s defense attorney, Veronice Holt, tried repeatedly to get the witness to agree that her client corresponded to a figure in the evidence swab report that made up only 8 percent of the total DNA detected on a black “Master Piece” sweatshirt found in the Honda. The witness said she resisted connecting the number to Mayfield several times, and Holt grew visibly impatient.

Holt asked at one point whether the witness believed there were other experts “competent” enough to be able to confidently draw that connection.

“Objection, Your Honor,” the prosecutor cut in. “She was stipulated to as an expert!”

DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan overruled the objection, asking Holt to rephrase. After several more failed attempts to get the witness to connect the figure with her client, Holt presented a contradictory report to the witness’s findings, which said the 8 percent could suggest Mayfield’s DNA was only transferred by another onto the sweatshirt, and that it should not be thought that he was the wearer. The report’s author testified on Oct. 25 to the same effect.

The witness agreed there was no way to be certain how Mayfield’s DNA got onto the sweatshirt, saying “I never have any idea how any DNA got on anything.”

The prosecutor called an eyewitness next, who had been in her black Chevy Tahoe with her husband when Sydnor’s car crashed into hers and came to a stop. She testified that they were waiting for family when they heard gunshots, looked up, and saw an individual shooting a handgun across the intersection.

Her husband told her to get down just as the individual appeared to be lowering the gun and turning to run away. She said she didn’t get a good enough look at the shooter to identify anything besides a fitted hat, a colorful shirt and a dark complexion.

The next thing she described to the jury was the crashing of Sydnor’s car into hers, which she said shocked her because she said her car was quite big but it was moved considerably by the impact. When she got out, she saw someone she described as a nine-year-old boy getting out of Sydnor’s car.

“Auntie J,” as he called her, was driving him to the barbershop on Aug. 12, 2017, so he could get a fresh haircut ahead of another aunt’s wedding, Sydnor’s nephew told the jury.

As they approached Saratoga Avenue, he recalled, “she was letting me play songs on her phone.” They got into a short argument over whether or not he had cursed while singing along to a song. Then, he said, he saw a man just to his right pull a gun from his waistband and aim it at his window.

“I thought it was a fake gun,” the witness said. “I had never seen a real gun before.”

The man fired several times, completely shattering the passenger-side window and spraying shards of glass all over the boy. The prosecution presented photos of the injuries the boy sustained from the glass—on his knee, his hands, all over his cheek and even in his eye.

When he turned over to see his aunt, the witness said, Sydnor’s face was covered in blood and she wasn’t responsive. He hit her several times to try and wake her up. When they collided with the black Tahoe, the witness said he got out of the car, screaming for help.

As the witness explained, when he did find somebody, he asked them for a ride and directed them towards his grandmother’s house. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers met them there, and the prosecutor presented bodycam photos of the witness getting out of the car, sobbing and scratched up by the shattered glass from the gunshots.

Before adjourning for the day, Judge Raffinan asked the prosecutors what they expected to cover the next day of the trial.

The prosecutors said they planned to call Mayfield and Moses’ accomplice next, who drove them to and from the scene of the crime, whose interview with the police was critical in the eventual arrests of the two defendants and on whose testimony the prosecutors’ case hinges.

According to court documents, the accomplice did not initially identify any suspects to the MPD, but did say that someone paid him on Aug. 10, 2017, to drive him and a friend to a spot two blocks away from the shooting. Several minutes later, the pair ran back and asked him to drive them off.

It was only after being arrested and charged with the murder of Sydnor that the accomplice was re-interviewed. He gave the police the names of Mayfield and Moses and admitted the shooting was related to an ongoing feud between the Langdon Park crew and the Saratoga crew.

Judge Raffinan received a note from a juror before the lunch break on Tuesday, expressing concern about the timeline of the trial, given some testimony had taken longer than anticipated. Moses’ attorney Steven Kiersh notified the judge that his case would take “less than a day to present.”

Holt said hers could be done in less than a half day, because “our main witness has testified” already, having been called by the prosecutor.

Judge Raffinan informed the jury she still expected to be ready for deliberations by Nov. 14.

The trial was set to continue on Monday, Oct. 31.

Defendants Plead Not Guilty to Mass Shooting

During an arraignment and status hearing on Oct. 28, two co-defendants were arraigned on murder charges.

Aaron Adgerson, 19, and Terrance Oxner, 23, were originally charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to a mass shooting that took place on the morning of Jan. 25, 2021, outside the New 7 Market on the 1400 block of Good Hope Road, SE. The shooting claimed the life of 22-year-old Edward Wade and injured several others.

The defendants were indicted on Oct. 14 for multiple charges.

Oxner is charged with first-degree murder while armed when offense committed during release, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence while armed when offense committed during release, seven counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence when offense committed during release, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction when offense committed during release, aggravated assault knowingly while armed when offense committed during release, assault with intent to kill while armed when offense committed during release, conspiracy when offense committed during release, and assault with intent to kill when offense committed during release while armed.

Adgerson is charged with first-degree murder while armed, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, two counts of assault with significant bodily injury while armed, conspiracy, and three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.

Adgerson and Oxner pleaded not guilty to all charges.

DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun scheduled the next hearing for Feb. 17.

Parties Discuss DNA Testing Ahead of Homicide Trial

DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee granted a continuance on Oct. 28 for a status hearing to provide an update on the status of DNA testing in a homicide case.

Kavon Young, 32, is charged with first-degree murder while armed with a firearm in connection to the fatal shooting of 66-year-old John Pernell on July 3, 2010. According to court documents, Pernell was found on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE, with multiple gunshot wounds after what witnesses described as an armed robbery that turned fatal.

During the Friday hearing, the prosecutor confirmed that early sets of DNA testing have been completed, but the prosecutor wants to conduct additional tests due to the amount of time that has passed.

Defense attorney Matthew Davies said he hasn’t done any DNA testing and plans to allow the scientist to perform testing on the fingernail clip that was found but it needs at least two weeks.

However, Judge Lee expressed that the approaching trial date and limited amount of time raises concerns.

Judge Lee continued to allow the parties to decide what they would like to do regarding DNA testing.

Judge Lee scheduled the next hearing on Nov. 8.

Prosecution Displays Evidence Recovered from Crime Scene

During an Oct. 27 proceeding, multiple items recovered from the crime scene were presented to a jury in a co-defendant homicide trial.

Jonathan Winston, 33, and Rakeem Willis, 31, are both charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the shooting of 26-year-old Javon Abney, 26-year-old Sean Shuler, and 24-year-old Tyrik Hagood on Jan. 26, 2019, at the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place, SE.

A witness, a friend of Shuler’s, told prosecutors about a Facetime call between her and Shuler the night of his murder. She said nothing was unusual about the call, but he was in a vehicle with Abney and another person.

A screenshot of the Facetime call was presented to jurors. Shuler and the witness had a one-minute call at 9:57 p.m. before ShotSpotter detected gunshots at 10 p.m.

A crime scene examiner told the court that she processed the scene and documented evidence featured in the trial.

More than $8,500 were found on the victims’ bodies and in a bag recovered from a different area.

Evidence recovered included a firearm, cartridge casings, and a Rolex watch. These items were shown to jurors through photographs and as physical evidence.

Winston’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, questioned the crime scene examiner about a suspension she received in June 2019. She clarified that she failed to secure evidence from a separate crime scene, so she reported the missing item leading to her suspension.

DC Superior Judge Michael Ryan scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 31 for more witness testimonies.

Prosecution Sends Criminal Investigators to Extract Bodily Fluids from Homicide Co-Defendants without Defense Counsel’s Knowledge

Defense attorneys are outraged over the prosecution’s decision to collect co-defendants’ DNA without informing defense counsel beforehand.

Mark Fletcher, 22, Malik Bynum, 22, and Larry White, 21, are charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the fatal robbery of 21-year-old Rosendo Miller on July 2, 2021, on the1300 block of Brentwood Road, NE.

The Friday hearing began with the prosecution assuring DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan that an indictment would be filed before December. Once filed, an arraignment date would be set.

As the hearing neared its end, defense attorney Pierce Suen, representing Bynum, announced that the prosecution had sent detectives to DC Jail where the defendants were held and collected their DNA.

In what Suen called “unethical” behavior, the prosecution provided no notice of this DNA collection and therefore left Bynum without counsel or representation, which he should have access to at all times.

Defense attorneys Lisbeth Sapirstein, representing White, and Thomas Healy, representing Fletcher, both concurred with Suen’s statements.

Judge Raffinan replied that at this point, the issue is moot and has already occurred. However, she advised the prosecution to remember that going forward it should not send forensic or criminal investigators, or any prosecution-hired personnel to defendants without notifying defense counsel beforehand.

According to court documents, the group was allegedly robbing Miller when the victim was shot eight times.

The next hearing is set for Nov. 21.

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