Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Sept. 7, on the 600 block of Chesapeake Street, SE.
At approximately 4:47 p.m., officers located 30-year-old Kendrick Phillips along with two other victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
Phillips was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The two other victims received treatment for non-life-threatning injuries, according to a press release.
On Aug. 10, Metropolitan Police Department detectives located 52-year-old Leslie Simpson on the 200 block of Savannah Street, SE.
She was found suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
As a result of the MPD detective’s investigation, 65-year-old Steven Dreher who was the suspect in this case was located deceased as a result of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Fatal shootings in August decreased by 33 percent from July.
D.C. Witness data shows 14 shootings in August compared to 20 fatal shootings in July.
In total there were 15 homicides in August, including one fatal stabbing.
On Aug. 14, detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department found 41-year-old Cynthia Stewart inside of a residence, suffering from apparent stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Aug. 25, 45-year-old Alexis Hawkins was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed, according to a press release. Due to defense counsel’s unavailability, Hawkins preliminary hearing was rescheduled from Sept. 6 to Oct. 6.
She is currently being held without bail at the DC Jail.
Of the 15 homicides, one was classified as being domestic violence.
Fifty-two-year-old Leslie Simpson was killed in a shooting that occurred on Aug. 10 in the Shipley Terrace neighborhood on the 200 block of Savannah Street, SE.
According to a press release, police identified a suspect as 65-year-old Steven Dreher. Officer found the suspect dead in Laurel, Md. suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police apprehended two suspects out of the 15 homicides in August.
In August, police also apprehended a homicide suspect charged in the shooting of 1-year-old Legend Wheeler.
On Nov. 24, 2021, MPD officers responded to the 2300 block of Chester Street, SE for reports of a juvenile male victim, unconscious and suffering from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. Legend was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
According to a press release, on Aug. 23, JD Wheeler, 23, was charged with second-degree murder.
He is currently being held at DC Jail and is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 13.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a traffic fatality involving a pedestrian that occurred on Sept. 4, at the intersection of Wheeler Road and Southern Avenue, SE.
At approximately 8:29 p.m., a driver that is operating a vehicle that was traveling northbound on the 900 block of Southern Avenue, SE. A pedestrian started to cross Southern Avenue. Injuries were caused when a vehicle failed to stop at a red traffic light on Southern Avenue and struck a pedestrian in the intersection.
The decedent has been identified as 25-year-old Jasmine Butler.
Each of the eight homicide defendants sentenced in August received a sentence of less than nine years.
DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee scheduled a status hearing for late-September to give defense attorney Craig Ricard time to discuss the prosecution’s plea offer with his client.
The defendant is being held for possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault with the intent to kill while armed during the crime of violence.
During the Sept. 6 hearing, Ricard asked for a protection order for the defendant, but Judge Lee denied the motion.
Judge Lee asked for the client to be brought forth with an exact sentencing term before he can agree to sign an order of protection for the defendant. The prosecution was also asked to prepare all the witnesses and material before the next hearing.
The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26 to discuss the plea agreement.
DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee continued a hearing Sept. 6 for a homicide case so that defense attorney Albert Amissah could discuss a plea offer with his client.
David Beale is charged with first-degree murder while armed, four counts of possession of firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and unlawful possession of a firearm for allegedly shooting 43-year-old George Johnson, Jr. on the 800 block of Oglethorpe Street, NE on May 7, 2018.
Parties are set to reconvene on Sept. 28.
During a Sept. 6 hearing, parties requested more time to evaluate the defendant’s ability to understand a plea bargain.
The 65-year-old defendant is charged with second-degree child sex abuse for allegedly sexually assaulting his wife’s 15-year-old granddaughter. According to court documents, this incident occurred in his home, where he inappropriately touched her breasts and vagina.
The complainant reported the incident almost a year after the assault occurred. She told officers that she hesitated because she “didn’t want to be a victim.”
According to court documents, the defendant told the officers when interviewed that he may have been drinking heavily at the time of the incident, as he drank frequently over that period.
Defense attorney Molly Bunke and the prosecution submitted a joint request for more time to continue evaluating the defendant’s mental state.
The prosecution said counsel is discussing plea bargains but needs to confirm the defendant understood fully before agreeing to any deal.
DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun granted the request.
The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.
During a Sept. 6 hearing, a murder defendant rejected a plea offer in connection to a 2017 shooting.
Derek Turner, 31, is charged with second-degree murder, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy in the shooting of 28-year-old Andrew McPhatter, on March 5, 2017, on the 3500 block of Wheeler Road, SE. Turner is also charged with second-degree murder for shooting 23-year-old Devin Hall, on Jan. 7, 2017, on the 3500 block of 6th Street, SE.
During the hearing, Turner pleaded guilty to both second-degree murder charges. Both parties settled on 14.5 years in prison for each charge. Turner will serve them both sentences consecutively.
He is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 7 with his co-defendant Ronnika Jennings for other charges he faces in another case.
Ronald B. Resetartis requested the prosecution release uncensored evidence and a statement that one of the witnesses in the case told detectives.
Thomas Fields Jr., 36, is charged with first degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 24-year-old Marquita Lucas. The stabbing took place on Aug. 17, 2019, on the 3700 block of Horner Place, SE.
Fields Jr. is also charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, three counts of tampering with physical evidence, three counts of possession of a firearm during crime of violence, three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior crime of violence, and one count of kidnapping while armed. He received a 15-count indictment on March 3, 2021.
Resetarits requested the prosecution release an uncensored version of previously given evidence.
The prosecutor expressed a desire for the uncensored version of the evidence to be made accessible only by Resetarits and his newly appointed co-counsel, Quiana Harris, due to a prior protective order.
The defense accepted the stipulation and the prosecution agreed to release both uncensored and censored versions of the evidence.
Resetarits also requested one of the witness’s statements that was not captured on body cam footage.
DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt, who was newly appointed to the case, tasked counsel with getting their motions and expert notices in by Dec. 9.
Judge Brandt set the next status hearing for Oct. 28.
During a Sept. 6 hearing, D.C. Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt responded to the defense’s motions in a 2018 homicide case.
Edward Brown, 61, was charged with the robbery of a senior citizen while armed, as well as two counts of first-degree murder of 77-year-old Michael Mahoney on Feb. 5, 2018.
Mahoney was found dead in his apartment, lying in a large pool of blood.
The prosecution’s lead detective notified the court that he was exposed to COVID-19 a couple of days before the hearing.
Despite testing negative twice, he reported mild symptoms which warranted safety concerns. The lead detective reviewed 44 hours of video surveillance on the crime scene, and his summary of that recording was crucial to the prosecution’s case, according to the prosecutor.
Given the detective’s status as a key witness, both parties refused to permit his remote attendance by Webex.
The order of witness testimonies during trial will depend on the detective’s COVID-19 test results. Should he test negative, he will testify first for the prosecution, while a positive test would require him to quarantine for 5 days, thus delaying his testimony, said Judge Brandt.
Additionally, CDC guidelines would normally require someone in the detective’s position to wear an N-95 or KN95 mask while testifying. However, Judge Brandt received special permission for him to wear a clear mask so long as he remains 6-feet away from everyone else. This would permit the jury to see the detective’s face, consistent with the court’s ordinary protocol for witnesses.
The parties discussed two motions to exclude planned testimonies by the prosecution’s medical examiner. Defense attorney Gemma Stevens also motioned to exclude the prosecution’s suspected murder weapon, a knife that was found in Brown’s car.
According to a previous ruling, a suspected murder weapon can only be introduced if there is direct and substantial evidence of its similarity to whichever weapon wounded the victim.
In this case, the court has no distinguishing information about the actual knife used to murder Mahoney, making it difficult to determine its similarity to the knife in Brown’s car.
Stevens cast further doubt on the knife’s viability as evidence, asserting that any links between Mahoney’s murder and the knife were tenuous, speculatory, and prejudicial.
The car knife appeared to be a small paring knife, contradicting one witness’s claims to have seen a “big ol’ knife” in Brown’s car. Additionally, there was no forensic evidence linking the knife to either the victim or Brown, and no “blunt-edge” comparison had been conducted to link the murder wound and car knife.
The medical examiner mentioned nothing about a knife in her initial evaluation, yet later asserted that the car knife matched the wound due to both being “thin and narrow.”
Judge Brandt ruled in favor of the defense, opting to completely exclude the segment about the knife including the medical examiner’s testimony. “We know nothing about the knife, it’s vague and can’t be linked in any sort of way to the defendant,” she said.
Judge Brandt opined that the examiner’s assertions contributed nothing to the story about Mahoney’s death, and a “thin and narrow” description could be applied to virtually any knife.
Defense attorney Kevin Mosely introduced a motion to have another testimony by the prosecution’s medical examiner excluded, in which she would estimate Mahoney’s time of death based on the 400 mL of partially-digested food in his stomach.
Mosley cited their examiner’s opinion that gastrointestinal content alone cannot be used to determine a specific time of death. The prosecution agreed but asserted that a range of potential death times based on Mahoney’s stomach content would still contribute valuable information to the story of his death and should not be excluded.
The prosecution also referenced video surveillance showing Mahoney carrying a plate of food into his apartment before his death, as well as an unwashed plate later found on his countertop. The prosecution said this evidence provided a range of time with factors for cross-examination and closing argument.
Judge Brandt ultimately ruled to include the testimony by the medical examiner concerning the contents of Mahoney’s stomach. She explained that gastrointestinal content was only one factor of the examiner’s testimony, and the time window, which the examiner would provide for Mahoney’s death warranted both cross-examination and the jury’s consideration.
Brown is set to begin trial on Sept. 7.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Sept. 4, on the 1800 block of East Capitol Street, NE.
At approximately 3:41 p.m., officers located an adult male suffering from apparent trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The decedent has been identified as 31-year-old David Louis Baker, Jr.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Sept. 5, on the 1000 block of 51st Street, NE.
At approximately 1:35 p.m., officers responded to the 4400 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE, for reports of a victim suffering from a gunshot wound. According to a press release, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The decedent has been identified as 31-year-old Terrell Felder.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Sept. 2, on the 1600 block of 18th Street, SE.
At approximately 6:34 a.m., MPD officers located 43-year-old Jermaine Brown suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
During a Sept. 2 hearing, a homicide defendant was sentenced to 60-months in prison for voluntary manslaughter for the shooting death of 21-year-old Michael Taylor.
On Jan. 12, 2019, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to a report of a shooting on the 1700 block of Benning Road, NE. Upon arrival, officers found three victims at the location. Taylor along with two other people, including a child, sustained significant injuries form the shooting.
Tavis Alston, 28, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on May 25. He was one of the five men, including Naquel Henderson, Carlos Turner, 23, Stephon Evans, 22, and Alonzo Brown, who are charged with Taylor’s death.
Taylor’s father made a victim impact statement. He also submitted a written victim impact statement prior to the sentencing hearing.
“Whatever sentence he gets, my son won’t come back,” Taylor’s father told DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee during his impact statement.
“You wrote a letter to me and it is one of the most heartfelt letters I have read. I have the most upmost respect for you,” Judge Lee told Taylor’s father.
Defense attorney Marnitta King said her client has shown remorse for his actions.
“He always wanted to make it right,” she said. “I don’t think I ever had someone call me, send me letters as much as he has.”
As part of the plea deal, parties agreed to the minimum mandatory sentence.
Alston will also have to serve 5 years of supervised probation. In addition, he is required to register as a gun offender once released.
Henderson, 25, and Brown, 25, were released from DC Jail into home confinement in August.
